Thoughts of the Future
by Darien Fawkes
Summary: There's still a way to go, and Xandred's forces are starting to mobilise once more, but as the Rangers prepare to face the war once more, they must also think of what they plan to do once the war is over.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **The hiatus is over! I'm back from the con, and just setting up for the remainder of the season (which is now only a couple of weeks away! Yay!). Expect my main storyline to re-start then, but until then, here's a little something to keep the background stories going. Hope you like it.

**Legal:** I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, characters, events etc. Anything not owned by the above rights is to be presumed to be the invention of the author.

**Rating: **T – may be some mild adult themes.

Mentor Ji, Serena and the Rangers all found themselves re-appearing in the yard of the Shiba House after a couple of days. After the recent trial they had been set by the Shogun, they had all been rewarded for their success. Not only had they had their powers returned to them, they had all received a kind of reward of their own. Since meeting the RPM Rangers, they already knew that other dimensions existed, but they were completely taken aback by what they found when they were taken to another.

"Morphicon was freaking awesome!" Mike exclaimed, hopping around excitedly. "Man, that was so sweet!"

"Yeah, I can't believe we're a TV show over there." Antonio stated. "Still, it's good to get home."

"Yes, it is!" Kevin agreed, grabbing Mike and holding him down. "Now maybe we can take the lesson we learned about taking our powers for granted and get back to training?"

"Lighten up Kevin, you geeked out just as much as we did." Mia giggled.

"I did not!" He protested. Emily just grabbed his backpack off his shoulder and ran away from him.

"Oh, so what's this then?" She asked him. "One Samurai Megazord sighned by...Najee...what a surprise, you!"

She threw the bag to Mike, turning it into a game of keep-away as Kevin almost caught her. Mike pulled out something and laughed.

"A Blue Ranger action figure...also signed by you!" He teased him. As Kevin ran towards him, he looked around, seeing Antonio gesturing to be next. Antonio caught the bag, and pulled out a poster.

"Aw...and look at this, a poster...also signed by you." He stated, beginning to read. "Live by the code of the Samurai, and always..."

Kevin tackled him as he got distracted, and finally took back his possessions. He started to walk away a little sheepishly.

"You're just sore that your actor wasn't there." Kevin muttered.

"Hey, neither was Mentor's." Antonio reminded him, pointing to Ji. Mentor Ji just sighed and shook his head.

"We all had a good time, but I feel that perhaps Kevin is right. This was our reward for learning not to take our powers for granted." He told them. "I suggest you put your souvenirs away and get ready for training. We will begin in ten minutes."

Serena brushed past all of them briskly. Of all of them, she was the only one that hadn't enjoyed herself. It was torture being forced to share a hotel with the others after what had happened between her and Terry. They hadn't had a chance to talk about it since then, and so the weekend had largely been spent finding excuses to not be around the others, especially Terry. Jayden and Ji just looked to each other, then back to the path Serena had taken.

"What is with her?" Jayden asked. "She's been like that all weekend."

"Um..." Terry started to stammer. The others quickly rallied around him. They had all tried in vain to get Serena to talk to them about what she had done. In the end though, Serena could be stubborn when she wanted to be, especially when it came to keeping pain to herself. "I...I..."

"I guess she's still a little shaken up from that last attack." Mia offered as an explanation. "The Grand Shogun didn't exactly hold back on her."

"She will no doubt come to us in time." Ji sighed, shaking his head. "Trying to make Serena talk when she doesn't want to is as pointless as trying to smash a boulder."

As they walked away, Mike pulled another poster out of his own bag.

"You know what I still think is crazy?" He asked. "Dekker used to be a Power Ranger! How weird is that?"

"It would make things a lot easier if he was on our side." Emily remarked. "When this is over, we so have to go to Turtle Cove and find that Cole guy."

As they left, all extremely happy with their reward, and ready to get started on training, Ji couldn't help being grateful for this trial. Although the Rangers were a huge deal in Panorama City, having their own merchandise, appearing on billboards, and even rumours of a movie being green-lit based on them meaning that they knew how much people appreciated them, it wasn't really the same. Because of their secret identities, at times they were denied the opportunity to get that gratitude face-to-face. Now, they knew there was a place where they had a very real and dedicated fanbase. More than a few people who assumed they were cos-players with a very good likeness to the actors that played them had posed for pictures with them and taken autographs, which they were happy to sign. Even Ji, it appeared, had his fans.

He opened up his cell phone and dialled, smiling as he saw it ringing. He knew they had been gone a couple of days in the other dimension, he could only presume that he had been away a couple of days here too.

"Brenda." He greeted her. "I'm sorry I haven't been in contact."

He loved to hear her voice. Knowing his secret, she knew that sometimes it wasn't possible for him to check in with her, meaning that there were sometimes nerve-wracking times when all she had to go on was whatever limited information the news had on Ranger battles, which as a result of Ji's friends in the media, often wasn't much.

"I'm fine, we all are. In fact, I have some tales to tell you that are hard to believe." He told her. "However, right now, I just want to know how the two of you are."

In another part of town, Spike came down the stairs. He was enjoying his last days of freedom, and long lies before he began his Junior Year in High School. He already knew that he had a lot of work to look forward to, and so he and his friends were starting to gear up for it. All except for Cody and Jimmy, who missed no opportunity to remind them that they still had another year before they needed to worry about exams that could shape their future.

He got into the kitchen, where his uncle was busy preparing him an omelette. He smiled as he saw Spike.

"Hey there, I was just about to call you." He told him.

"You know the smell of eggs is better than any alarm clock." Spike reminded him, grabbing a plate from the cupboard.

"So, are you ready for the career fair?" He asked him. Spike just groaned. "Spike, you agreed..."

"I know, I know, it's just...School starts next week." Spike tried to explain.

"That's exactly why you should go." Bulk stated emphatically. "Look, I know it doesn't seem like it now, but the decisions you make now could really affect the decisions you can make when it comes to your career. Two years seems like a long time, but by the time the exams and everything start piling up, you'll find yourself out in the world before you know it."

"I know, I've heard this speech from my guidance counsellor." Spike groaned. "And mom, and dad, and my teachers, and..."

"I know, I felt the same way at your age." Bulk sighed, reaching over and patting him on the shoulder. "Things worked out for me and your dad, but seriously, it wasn't easy. Do you know how many careers I had to try before we got that restaurant?"

"Let's see, junior police officer, private detective, alien hunter..."

"That was more of a vocation, we didn't actually get paid." Bulk reminded him, remembering his embarrassing time with the professor. It was just one of many mistakes he'd made in his youth.

"Then you were a barman on Terra Venture." Spike stated. "All that before coming home to start Bulkmeyers."

"Maybe if I'd thought a bit more about it when I was your age, I'd have had more options and not had to rely on fate." Bulk told him. "You've seen my diploma, it's more like confirmation of attendance."

Spike just nodded weakly. It wasn't something he brought up often. Things had worked out well for Bulk and his dad. They had been fortunate with some of the things that had happened to them, and while they now both had money, Bulk enough to retire and spend his time looking after Spike while Skull furthered his other business interests, they were both well aware of exactly how fortunate they had been given how little they had cared for their education. It was something that they had both drilled into Spike from an early age, driving him to concentrate as much on his school work as he could.

"You know, I have heard from a little birdie that you were considering following your mom's footsteps." Bulk told him. "And since Panorama doesn't have a Junior Police Service for you to join, don't you think it might be worth talking to someone at the Police Academy's booth to find out what they look for in recruits?"

"You know I always hate it when you make sense." Spike replied. "Alright, I'll go, but let me call my friends first. Maybe it won't be so boring if they're going."

"Yeah, it must be a whole...eight hours since you saw them." Bulk chuckled. "Go ahead and make the call."

Spike went into the hall, after shovelling more omelette into his mouth, and headed into the hall to start calling around his friends. Bulk just smiled. He had never had kids of his own, and in many ways he always satisfied that side of his life, living through Spike. He couldn't believe how much he had grown, and he was proud to be a part of helping him become a man and find his way in the world.

The Rangers were training hard, making up for lost time, determined to ensure that their lesson was not learned in vain. None of them knew how long it would be until Serrator came back, not to mention Dekker. As they were training, Brenda came into the yard. Ji saw her and started to make his way over, leaving them to their hard work. Seeing her again, he couldn't help greeting her with a long, warm kiss and hold her to him. She was slowly starting to make her way into the third month of her pregnancy, and was just beginning to show, something that delighted Ji to see. He had already seen a scan, but now he was starting to see the change in her, it finally all seemed real. He was going to be a father.

"I was so glad to hear you call." She told him. "Where have you all been?"

"Believe me, there is plenty of time for such tales." He told her. "I'm more interested in hearing how you've been."

"Things have been pretty quiet all things considered." She told him. "I've not had many inspections, so I've caught up on the paperwork. I've actually been spending a lot of time thinking about what we'll be doing when the baby comes."

"Yes, I had been meaning to help you with that." Ji said apologetically. Unfortunately, even though Nighlock activity had been severely reduced since the battle with Xandred, recent events had taken a lot of the Rangers' time and attention. For one thing, they had intended to at least start looking for somewhere else to live once the baby arrived, but so far, he hadn't managed to do any of it. He sometimes felt guilty that he couldn't spend as much time as he'd like with the preparations. "I am sorry, hopefully we will get some time before Serrator comes back to deal with some things."

"Well, I had an idea how to get some time." She told him, handing him a flyer. He looked at it, before looking up to her curiously.

"The career fair?" He asked her. He was aware that there was some kind of event on nearby, but it was something that hadn't really crossed his mind.

"Well, I've been thinking about it a lot because of the baby and everything. You know, we're going to have to think about schools and stuff like that." She started to explain. "Then that got me thinking, with the exception of getting Emily her High School Diploma online, the others have been kind of busy to sort out anything about their future."

Ji was going to answer, but he realised she was right. Emily had indeed graduated online, and all of the Rangers had High School diplomas, but given their age when they came to the Shiba House, none of them had really had time to think about much else. All going well, there would come a time when they would all leave the house and make their own way in life.

"I know that there's still a long way to go before this is all over." She told him. "But maybe it wouldn't hurt if they all went and got some ideas what their options are?"

"I suppose it would not harm them to see what is out there for them." Ji agreed. He quickly checked his watch, and decided that they had worked hard enough for one day. He saw in particular that Serena seemed completely distracted, having been taken to the mat more times than he could normally recall.

"Alright, everyone line up." He announced. They all quickly assembled, Terry and Serena a little way behind the others. Despite nursing her shoulder, Serena seemed to refuse Terry's offer of a hand to her feet as they came over. They all looked to Ji. "Brenda has pointed out to me something I have been neglecting. I thought it would be an idea for you all to attend this."

He handed Emily the pamphlet, and they all just looked at it, before looking back up at him.

"Ji?" Jayden asked him. "Is there something you're not telling me? I get the bank balances here, and we have plenty of money..."

"While the war has always been a priority, I am perfectly certain none of you are intending to be here forever." Ji reiterated. "I think perhaps a day here would allow you some time to think about what you want to do with your future."

"Well, I really don't need to work." Jayden stated.

"I already have a business." Antonio reminded them. Ji just gave him a little look.

"Well, as great as that is, would you not like to perhaps think about expanding?" He asked him. "Perhaps even consider a restaurant?"

Antonio was about to answer, but stopped as he considered it. He hadn't really thought much about expanding beyond the cart. It suited him for now, and he was always thankful for the flexibility offered by not having a fixed business location and being able to work when he wanted, but the thought of an actual restaurant...somewhere with the name Antonio Garcia over the door in bright lights...was that even possible?

"Well, my future's pretty much set." Terry announced. "Once I go back to medical school, I'll just finish out my degree and become a doctor."

"And you haven't thought about what you might like to do beyond that?" Ji asked him. "Have you considered if you would like to go into a specialty? Or perhaps even be a GP?"

He then looked to Kevin.

"I understand you were planning on a coaching career after you've finished competing." He told him. "Now don't you think that you might want to find out what kind of qualifications and qualities are desirable for that kind of job?"

"Alright, alright, you made your point." Mike grumbled. "We'll go."

"I don't know, I think this might be a good thing." Mia stated. "Who knows, maybe it'll be fun to see what the future could hold."

"Let's get cleaned up and go." Kevin stated. As they all started to go, Terry followed Serena to her room.

"Serena, hold up." He told her. He got his hand around her arm. "Please, you haven't talked to me all weekend."

"Terry, just...can we not do this?" She begged him.

"Serena, how can you expect me to just ignore this?" He asked her. "You know what you did."

"Yeah, I was kind of there!" She reminded him. "So was everyone else! How do you think it was being trapped out there...?"

"Wait a minute, trapped?" He asked her.

"Yeah, trapped!" She answered. "I had to have that room to myself because I knew anyone I shared with would only want to talk about it. Don't you think I noticed the way they were looking at me all weekend?"

"Serena, I didn't know what was going on." Terry told her. "One minute you're kicking my ass, then the next minute you're kissing me, then you're in hysterics!"

"Don't you think I know what I did?" She asked him. "It was a mistake, now please just drop it!"

"Drop it?" He asked her incredulously. "How do you expect me to...? Serena, I can't just ignore this."

"What do you want me to say Terry? Do you want me to say that I'm a disgusting, selfish, horrible person? Don't you think I know that?" She screamed at him. "Now, Mia's only going to need about another week, then we can get the cast off and you can just go and we can pretend this never happened."

"You...you are unbelievable!" He said, his voice sounding more than a little infuriated. "You want me to leave?"

"Well, aren't you going back to Medical School?" She asked him.

"I've already missed the start of term, I won't be going back until next year!" He reminded her. "Clearly you've been paying attention!"

"Terry..."

"I'll bet you just wanted me to head on home so that you can go on with your life and pretend none of this ever happened didn't you?" He said angrily.

"I'm in love with Stephen!" She reminded him. "I'm in love with my boyfriend, and I...I kissed someone else. Do you have any idea what I've been feeling? Don't you think this is tearing me apart, knowing that I've been betraying..."

"Alright, then I guess there isn't anything else to say." Terry interrupted her. He just rubbed his hands together, indicating that he was washing his hands of the situation, before turning and storming off. "If you want to attack people who want to help you, then go ahead and be miserable and alone, then that's fine with me!"

As he stormed away, Serena just rolled her eyes, before heading towards her room. She paused as she saw Mia standing in her way though.

"Mia, I really..."

"He's right about one thing, you really are unbelievable." Mia said a little coldly.

"Mia please, I can't bear to have you judging me..."

"You don't get it do you?" Mia asked her. "You lost Stephen six months ago! No one expects you to just shake that off..."

"I know I'm horrible..."

"You are, but not about Stephen." She told her. "You're hurting, and you're confused, I get that, but did you stop for one minute to think about what this might mean to Terry?"

Serena now felt even worse. She and Terry had been growing close over the time he had been at the Shiba House. It had likely been one of the things that had led to her confusion over what she wanted, what she was feeling...when she had kissed him, she hadn't for one moment considered what she meant to him. It was yet another thing she hadn't thought of.

Mia stepped a bit closer.

"For the sake of everyone involved, I think it's best we talk about this when you've had a chance to get your head together, but I'm warning you right now, Terry's my brother." She reminded her. "Don't make me choose, you know how that will end. Now, unless I'm very much mistaken, we all have a career fair to attend."

With that, she left, leaving Serena to go and get changed. She started to take off her training uniform, looking out something to wear, finding her eyes beginning to tear up. This was exactly what she feared. She was losing everyone that mattered to her over this. She doubted it would be long before Emily forced her to talk, and realised the same thing Mia had. Mike and Kevin, she knew would side with Terry. As if she needed any more confirmation, she looked to the octagonal power disk on her dresser. It was solid black, and none of the symbols were glowing. Picking it up, it was completely inert, she couldn't feel any energy from it at all.

"Now even you've turned your back on me." She muttered, placing it back down. She straightened herself out as much as she could, before Emily came in.

"Are you coming?" She asked. "Kevin was wondering..."

"Alright, let's go." She said, forcing a smile. "Let's see what the future holds."

Meanwhile, in the Netherworld, Dayu got up onto the deck of the Junk. After weeks of soaking in Sanzu water, her wounds were now almost completely healed. She felt her strength returning to her, but even now, she knew it was not enough to deal with Serrator. Octoroo came waddling up to her, looking out over the rail with her.

"I really hope you and Dekker know what you're doing." He told her. She just nodded.

"Without Xandred, the only hope now is to find out what that grinning maniac is up to." She told him. "I do not doubt that it will not be long before we find out."

"What about Dekker?" He asked her. She just smiled and looked to the banks. Octoroo's eyes grew wide as he saw him standing, just glaring at the ship.

"What do you think?" She asked him. "When the chips are down, who can possibly stand against The Cursed Warrior?"

Dekker just nodded to confirm that he had seen them, before turning and heading back to his cave to await Serrator's instructions. The deceptive games would not last much longer, of that much he was certain. Soon, Serrator would finally make his move, and he could get back to concentrating on the Red Ranger.


	2. Career Fair

The Career's Fair was already well underway by the time Spike and Bulk arrived. He had called his friends to meet him, and found that just like him; their parents had already suggested they go. For Cody and Jimmy, it was likely to be somewhat of a waste of time, but going into Junior Year, Spike, Mal, Vicky and Melanie had all been told that what they learned there could give them a better idea of what they wanted to do once they left school, and give them ideas of what subjects they might want to take, and how to flesh out their resume's for when they started looking for work.

"Hey, look who's finally here!" Vicky greeted Spike, swallowing him up in a huge hug. "I was wondering if you were even coming!"

"Yeah, my uncle practically dragged me here." He told them. "He's parking the car right now."

"Well my folks frog-marched me here, but I'm actually having a pretty good time." Mal informed him, pulling some paperwork out of his bag. "I never knew how many colleges have drama scholarships!"

"Wait, drama scholarships?" Spike asked him. Mal just started shifting a little uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I kind of decided I might need to use all that dance training I did." He stated. "College is pretty expensive, even if I do get in somewhere I can commute to. I'm going to need some kind of scholarship, and I'm not exactly a sports' star."

"I figured it would be a good way to get by." Melanie added, putting an arm around Mal. "Since...well...you know, I had to look at other options too, so we're both going to see if we can make someone take notice on our admissions forms."

Spike just nodded as he heard this. Melanie's summer had been kind of rough. She had been let go from her job once news had broken about her dad's sentence for fraud, and until the interest from the newspapers died down, she had found it difficult and frustrating to find another. She had eventually managed to get a job stacking shelves at a local Target. The money wasn't great, and things were still a bit of a struggle, but things were finally starting to look a little brighter now that the media had other things to report on than her family's misfortune.

"Besides, it might be fun." Mal told them, holding her closely.

"I got a load of stuff too." Vicky informed Spike, showing him some leaflets. "I don't really know what I want to do, but there's so much stuff here, I'm bound to find something."

"Well, there's only one booth I really want to visit." Spike told them, gesturing to the Police Department's stand. "I'll be right back."

"We'll be waiting!" Vicky called after him as he headed over to the booth. He started to approach just as another kid was leaving with some flyers. The officer standing behind the desk saw him coming over and smiled.

"Good morning young man." He greeted him. "How can I help you today?"

At another part of the convention hall, the Rangers were taking a little time to look around and collect some information and ideas on what they might like to do if they ever found themselves in the situation that they were no longer needed to battle the Nighlock. They hadn't originally believed so, most of them thought that the whole idea of collecting leaflets was a silly idea that would not be even remotely like actually trying to get a job in the real world, they were actually finding the day rather interesting, and were pleasantly surprised by some of the ideas they had never even considered.

Emily was running around practically every stand, investigating colleges and courses that interested her, and practically every conceivable job she could think of to collect information. Her arms were already loaded with bags full of leaflets, booklets, posters and various merchandise such as complimentary pens, pads and bumper stickers. She, more than any of them seemed to be genuinely enthusiastic to see exactly what options she had to look forward to.

Mike was a lot more restrained. He tended to avoid the corporate tables and most of the jobs that would likely entail spending most of his time in an office. He was a very active, energetic guy. The very idea of him trying to sit still for a full day was enough to get any of his friends laughing their asses off. At best, he was energetic, at worst; he had the attention span of a goldfish! The point was, he was more interested in jobs that would see him out in the world, meeting people. He spent a fair amount of time with the manager of a local sports' centre, talking about the opportunities there.

Mia was always insistent on the fact that she wanted her Cinderella story. She wanted to marry her prince, and have a family, but she was also finding a lot of things appearing quite appealing to her. She knew that the white picket fence and large yard she had always envisioned having for her family would cost quite a bit, and had determined that even if she decided to stop working once the family thing happened, working for a few years at least would certainly open up their options. She had been working as a volunteer at a day care centre before her tenure as a Ranger, but she was surprised to learn that it put her in good stead for going into education or childcare full-time.

Kevin was concentrating all his efforts on the college tables and the sports centres. While he still had some hopes of training and possibly making it onto the US team for the 2016 Olympics, he had always kind of thought that one day, once he was finished competing, he would move into a coaching position as many former athletes did. He was checking out exactly what that entailed, and was filling out forms to find out more information on courses that would make that more likely. After all, while being a successful athlete would put him in a good position to work as a coach, he was certain that having a few related academic qualifications could certainly open doors and make it more of a career than a vocation.

Jayden already knew that once the war was over, he would never need to work. His family's means were such that he simply didn't need the money, but he was there more for Antonio, who was checking out tables related to restaurants and a couple of colleges. It seemed that Ji's suggestion about possibly opening a restaurant and expanding his business beyond the snack cart had struck a chord with him. Jayden followed him around, listening and taking the paperwork while Antonio talked with the people at the desk to hear exactly what running a restaurant entailed.

Serena's situation was different, and it wasn't just the situation with Terry, although that was what was weighing most heavily on her mind. She, like everyone else, knew that his dream always had been to become a doctor. It was pretty much the only thing he wanted to do, that much was clear from the moment he had come to the Shiba House. He was basically only at the career fair to get out of the house, something that was clear by his lack of interest in any of the stalls. The situation was quickly becoming impossible in the house, and she had to remind herself why she was there at all, something that was becoming progressively harder to do. There was something else playing on her mind though, something that until Ji sent them all on this fun little outing she had put to the back of her mind.

She had fallen ill towards the end of her time in High School, something which gravely affected her performance. She hadn't been stupid, not by a long shot, but the fact was that by the time all was said and done, her diploma was hardly anything special. It was one of the things that made her very self-conscious early in her relationship with Stephen. At Emily's suggestion, she had started an online course in palaeontology under Dr Tommy Oliver, but she hadn't even looked at her work in months. It was just another reminder of Stephen that she could live without, and she had found it impossible to motivate herself to go back to her studies.

She looked to the handful of flyers she had picked up and sighed. It wasn't as though she didn't have her reasons, but given the reaction of most of the vendors when she told them about her qualifications, and her extra-curricular activities, those that she COULD talk about anyway, it had quickly become apparent that her future seemed to lie in the wildly exciting fields of shelf-stacking, or burger-flipping. As Emily came galloping over, almost tripping over the monstrous pile of plastic bags running the length of each of her arms, Serena forced a smile.

"Well, it looks like someone's been busy." Serena commented. Emily just nodded excitedly.

"There's so much to choose from! When I was talking to the vendors, I just couldn't decide, but all of them seemed really helpful!" She rattled out in a voice that was running at a million miles an hour. "I see you've got some ideas too!"

"Yeah, I got a few leads." Serena said, shoving the leaflets away before Emily could see what they were. Emily was a bright kid. Finishing her diploma online, away from all the kids who constantly tore her down and made her feel worthless had meant that she had ended up with a pretty impressive score on her exams. It was little wonder that a lot of the vendors had opportunities they could offer her. She could see that Emily was excited about exactly how much the future excited Emily, and she didn't want to take that away by disappointing her. It wasn't Emily's fault her big sister, the perfect Golden Child that everyone looked up to had ended up a complete loser. "So, is there anything that you really liked the sound of?"

Just then, there was a loud crash as the doors flew in. Everyone turned to the door, seeing Dekker standing there. The Cursed Warrior strode inside, broken glass crunching under his boots as he went. His cloak whipped around him, and he had The Bane of Life clutched tightly in his hand. As he got inside the building, he looked around the awe-struck vendors and patrons. A couple of the cops at the Police Academy's table got up and started to head towards him, unclipping their holsters.

"No, don't..."

"It's alright kid; we're trained for this kind of thing." One of the cops silenced Spike, holding up a hand. He looked to Dekker, his hand on the handle of his gun. "Alright freak show, put down the sword and put your hands up."

Dekker just smiled, before a dark flame flared up around him, showing the terrified crowd that he was far from just a nutcase with a sword. The cops all started to slowly back away.

"Get out!" He stated flatly. A huge scream went up from the assembled crowd, as they, the cops, and the patrons all took his suggestion to heart and fled past him out of the building. Dekker stood, unflinching as they emptied the hall, leaving only the Rangers and Serena behind. They all formed up behind Jayden as he made his way forward.

"So, you're back." Jayden snapped. "What do you want this time Dekker? What game are you here to play?"

"No games this time Red Ranger." He answered. "You won't need your weapons today. I just wanted to put you on notice that I'm back, and I haven't forgotten about that re-match I've been waiting for."

"Fine, you've told us." Jayden replied. "Now get out of here!"

"All in good time." Dekker answered as he looked to the banner hanging over the entrance. He just let out a little laugh as he saw it, turning his attention back to them. "Career Fair? You knew I was still alive, you know that Xandred and the others are coming back, and yet you're attending a Career Fair?"

Jayden just tensed up as Dekker started to pace. He wished Dekker would just make a move and get it over with. He wanted his fight, why did he have to wait for it? Dekker just looked Jayden and the others up and down judgementally.

"Do any of you really think you have a future?" He asked them. "You all strive and reach for a life that you may never get to live."

"It's better than just living from one duel to the next!" Kevin sneered judgementally. "We have something you'll never have Dekker, something worth fighting for."

"Do you?" He asked, before looking to Mia. He saw her cast and nodded. "How's the wrist Pink Ranger?"

"I'll be healed soon." She informed him.

"I'm glad to hear it." He answered. "You can finally let this amateur get back to...whatever it is he does."

"I am standing right here!" Terry protested.

"Well, good for you." Dekker replied sarcastically. "Now, quiet down, the adults are talking."

Terry reached into his pocket, searching for his Samuraizer. Things had been building in him for some time. Between working to cover for Mia while she recovered, winning over the team and the situation with Serena, all while putting his own life on hold had all built up, starting to gnaw at his insides, eating away at him. Dekker simply looking past him, ignoring him just as Serena had was the last straw. He ran forward, morphing as he went.

"Terry!" Serena screamed as he flew at The Cursed Warrior. Terry's skill was no match for him though. With a move so quick, that even Antonio had trouble following it, he was disarmed, and crashed through a table, de-morphing as he went. Mia and Emily were quickly at his side.

Serena ran forward, snatching up his fallen Spin Sword, and swinging it for Dekker. He blocked the blow, before seizing her by the throat. He just shook his head.

"This sword is not yours." He taunted her as he shoved her away. He turned and started to walk away. "See to your friend. Perhaps by the time I come back, I will face a Samurai and not a substitute."

With that, he disappeared into a gap. Serena dropped Terry's Spin Sword and ran over to him as he started to stir.

"Terry!" She called out. "Is he..?"

"He's fine." Mia assured her, checking on her brother as he started to sit up. "The suit took the worst of it."

"Here, let me help you..." Her words were cut off as Terry slapped her hand away. Looking to her defiantly, he pulled himself to his feet with the wreckage of the table. "Terry..."

"It's a bit late to start pretending you care." He said coldly. "Besides, I'm just a second choice."

"Terry, I..."

"Don't patronise me Serena!" He yelled in a rage, causing her to back away from him slightly in shock. "Just...just...never mind."

With that, he stormed out of the hall, leaving the others dumbfounded by his reaction. His defeat had been quick, and rather dismissive, but the Rangers all knew how dangerous Dekker was. However, most of them knew it was more than that. Kevin, Mia, Emily and Mike had all seen the kiss between him and Serena. So far they hadn't managed to get them to talk about the incident, but by now they were certain that Terry was suffering a lot more than bruised pride over a quick defeat at Dekker's hands.

"Alright, what exactly was that all about?" Jayden asked.

"I...I..."

"No more stories Serena; I'm starting to get really sick of this." Jayden told her. "This is now affecting my team, so I want to know what this is, and I want to know right now!"

"Jayden, please." Emily interjected. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about it here."

"Emily, this has already..."

"Please." She begged him, giving him that look she seemed to have perfected, the one that melted hearts and often got Emily just what she wanted from the older residents of the Shiba House. Jayden just sighed.

"Fine, we'll talk about this at the house." He groaned. "But this needs to end Serena."

As they started to leave, Emily and Serena were at the back of the group. She gave Mike a little look, and a nod, communicating what was about to happen wordlessly. Without warning, she tripped Serena, dumping her on the floor just as the others got outside. Whipping out her Samuraizer, she cast forward a symbol, completely blocking the doorway with an impenetrable wall of rock. Serena just looked to her sister, seeing a look of rage on her face that just seemed so out of place for the Yellow Ranger. It was a look few ever saw, and all that rage was directed at her.

"Emily..."

"Jayden's right Serena, this shit's been going on for too long!" She screamed at her. "Now you're not leaving here until I know what the hell this is all about!"

"Emily, please...blmph!" Her words were muffled as Emily cast another power symbol, this time smacking her sister straight in the face with a large clod of mud. Serena spat out as much of it as she could, looking to Emily with tears in her eyes.

"I've tried to give you space, I've tried to just let you tell me what this thing with Terry is about, but now I'm just sick to death of it!" She snarled, holding up the Samuraizer menacingly. "I can keep this up all day Serena, you know I can, now start talking!"


	3. Some Hard Discussions

Terry arrived back at the Shiba House, still fuming over what had happened at the Career Fair. He stormed into his room, pacing intently as he ran his hands through his hair.

He was a joker, everyone knew that, but that didn't mean that things didn't get to him. He had been humiliated by his dismissive defeat at Dekker's hands, but it was more than that. He had let The Cursed Warrior get under his skin. When he had mocked him, dismissed him as merely a substitute, it had really gotten to him.

Terry knew all too well that he was only a temporary substitute for Mia while her wrist healed, but that didn't mean he liked being disrespected. He was strong in his own right. He had always come through for the team in the time he had been fighting by their side. He had said himself that he had no intention of replacing Mia permanently, but he liked to think he had proven himself. Heck, Emily wasn't meant to be there, and she had done well enough that even though Serena COULD come back, they had all elected to allow Emily to continue in her stead.

Unfortunately, that was the problem. He didn't care what Dekker thought of him. Dekker was just a Nighlock. He was a powerful and deadly one, but a Nighlock none-the-less. It was the fact that he had touched a nerve, getting Terry thinking that he wasn't good enough to be there. He wasn't good enough for her.

It had been obvious to him for a while that he liked Serena, and that he wanted a lot more from her. It had apparently been obvious to others too, as Ji had already spoken with him on the matter. It had angered him that Ji felt he needed to warn him about what Serena had been going through. He knew all about Stephen. It wasn't exactly a secret; indeed, it still stood as a painful reminder in the house of the cost of failure. Although the battle against Xandred had ended in defeat, the team had walked away from it. For Jayden, Stephen's murder was still the most grievous and painful of all his failures. For the others, they had lost a good friend, and for Serena...the first man she had ever loved.

He had been drawn to Serena, even before they had spent all that time together. Their paths had been so different; it was her strength that called to him. She had come back from a tragedy that by rights should have broken her. She had dedicated herself to her new family, and gave them everything, no matter the cost at all times. He was in awe of her, and she represented everything he wished he could have been for Mia. It was over time that he knew his feelings for her were changing, but he always kept his distance. He doubted that Serena would return the way he felt about her. He had never intended to suggest she was ready to stop mourning, and he doubted he could hope to compete with the spectre of Stephen.

Over time though, things became more and more frustrating. There were times when her guard slipped, times when she almost seemed to forget her sorrow. The times he saw her smiling, when she would seem to find herself able to laugh again, she was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever known, and on a few occasions, he had even found himself daring, if only for a few fleeting moments, that perhaps the day would come that she would be ready to move on, and perhaps even do so with him.

Unfortunately, on more than one occasion, he had seen something in her, something he didn't want to. During the times they had laughed together, sometimes, just sometimes, he had felt their eyes connect, and her laughter would end abruptly, followed quickly by panic, and pain, things he never wanted her to feel. He understood that she still loved Stephen, and any thoughts that she had for anyone else had to cause her anguish. When she had kissed him, he finally understood, she did have feelings of some description for him. What those feelings were, what they meant for them he didn't know, but one thing was clear. She was fighting them, which meant as much as he didn't want to think of it, she had made a choice. She was fighting so hard to keep herself from her feelings that it was clear she didn't want him. He wasn't good enough.

He turned on his bed as the door opened, seeing his sister entering the room. He just let out a sigh and shook his head.

"If you and the others..."

"The others aren't back yet. I came alone." She told him, coming in and sitting on the bed. She just put an arm around him. "So, would you mind telling me how you got yourself into this mess?"

"Mia, are we really doing this?" He asked her. She just looked to him and nodded her head.

"You know that normally I like to have as little to do with your love life as possible. After that girl that set about your car with a golf club, I really could live without the drama." She admitted. "But this...you have to admit, this is creating more than a little bit of a mess. Haven't you ever heard of the saying don't shit where you eat?"

"Yeah, because I really planned this." He said sarcastically. "I've already heard this lecture from Ji..."

"Ji caught onto this?" Mia asked him. "Terry, what the hell?"

"Why exactly does everyone just automatically assume that all this is my fault?" He demanded angrily.

"Terry, no one is blaming you for anything." Mia assured him. "I just want to know what's going on. I care about you, and I care about Serena. This thing...you have to admit, it's all becoming really messed up."

"I had kind of noticed." Terry muttered. "It's always the same; things are fine until I get involved."

"Terry..."

"I mean it Mia, Serena was fine until I showed up." He reminded her. "Now, she's a complete basket case!"

"Terry..."

"Look Mia, I think everyone can agree everything was so much easier before I got here." He told her. "Your wrist should be fine by the end of the week. I'll just keep my distance, and when you're back on your feet, I'll pack my bags."

"Terry, that wasn't..."

"What else can I do Mia?" He asked her. "I just make things worse no matter what I do. The sooner I'm gone, the better."

"Well, I guess that's for the best." She sighed, getting up and looking at him with a look of disappointment on her face. "I mean, if you're going to give up the second things get difficult, then maybe you don't care about her."

"That's not fair Mia!" He protested.

"Serena's messed up enough as it is, so if you're not prepared to be there when things are tough, then she's better off without you."

She turned and left the room, stopping outside and stroked the bridge of her nose in frustration. She hated to chew him out like that. She loved Terry, and she also loved Serena, but what was going on was clearly no good for either of them. It would hurt, but she couldn't see how they could come back from this. Terry and Serena would move on eventually, but sometimes things just didn't work, and clearly that was one of those times.

Back at the convention centre, Serena spluttered as Emily hit her with another clod of mud. Serena looked up to her, tears streaming down her face.

"I mean it Serena; I'm going to keep doing this all day until you spill it!" Emily demanded.

"What do you want to hear Emily?" She screamed. "I know it's wrong! I know I have no right to..."

"To what? To mess Terry around?" Emily demanded, pelting her again.

"I have no right to feel this!" She sobbed. "I have no right to...to..."

Emily paused as she saw Serena on her knees before her, broken and defeated.

"I have no right to like him." She sniffed. She looked up to Emily, pleading with her with her eyes. "Don't you think I know it's wrong? Don't you think I'm disgusted enough with myself?"

"Serena, what are you talking about?" Emily asked her sympathetically, lowering her Samuraizer. She started to approach her slowly as Serena held her face in her hands.

"I'm talking about Terry." She told her. "I...I...don't know what I'm feeling."

Emily, like the others, had seen the kiss. She hadn't managed to talk to Serena about it, giving her some space, but things had gone too far for her to ignore. Seeing Serena so weak before her was heartbreaking. She could tell that Serena was genuinely distraught.

"How can I feel anything for him? I love Stephen." She said weakly as Emily finally came over to her, kneeling with her and hugging her tightly. She could only hold Serena as she wept.

"Serena, you haven't done anything to be ashamed of." Emily whispered to her sympathetically. She had seen Terry and Serena getting closer long before the kiss, and though she hadn't suspected how far things might have developed. She looked to her sister's eyes as she took a deep breath. "Serena, no one blames you for being confused or..."

"How can I even look at Terry when I love Stephen?" She asked her. "What does that say about me?"

"It says that you're human." Emily sighed. "I loved Stephen too. He made you happy; he gave you something that will be with you for the rest of your life. I can even admit that on occasion, I had started to think about him becoming part of the family."

"You...you thought about that?" Serena asked her. Emily just nodded.

"It was kind of hard not to. The two of you were made for each other. I loved him almost as much as you did. I could have seen him being a part of our family." She told her, before breathing a sigh. "I like to think I knew him pretty well, and that's why I can honestly say, I don't think he'd have wanted you to mourn him forever."

"Emily..."

"I don't know what you and Terry have together, but I know one thing. Since he's been here, you've been happier than I've seen you in months. I've seen you smiling, and I've seen you laughing. I feel like I finally got my sister back, and for that I'll always be grateful to him."

She sat beside Serena, holding her tightly.

"I still don't know how I feel." Serena admitted. "When I'm around him, I feel like I like myself. I feel really good, but then after a while, all I can think about is Stephen, and I feel like I'm betraying him."

"You can't betray Stephen, Serena. Stephen's dead." She reminded her. "I know that's unfair, I know that sucks and I know it hurts, but he's gone. He's not coming back. All you can do is ask yourself. Knowing how much he loved you, do you really think he'd want you to feel this badly about being happy? Do you really think he'd want you to be alone?"

"But...what about Terry?" She asked her. "What about if he...?"

"Well, that's something only he can answer." Emily interrupted her. "But unless you want to make even more of a mess of this than you already have, I suggest you really think long and hard about what you want from him. Because so far, things have been pretty messed up, and I really don't think he deserves that."

Emily got up, helping Serena to her feet. She pulled out her Samuraizer, and cast forth a symbol, causing the wall of rock she had jammed into the doorway to collapse. Jayden, Kevin, Mike and Antonio were all waiting, and looked more than a little annoyed. Jayden started to make his way forward.

"Alright, can someone please tell me what's going on?" He demanded. Emily just looked to him and shook her head.

"Please, we'll fill you in when we get home." Emily assured him. "I promise I'll fill you in then, let's just get out of here."

Meanwhile, in another part of town, Spike and his friends had all gathered in a burger joint, once they were confident that Dekker hadn't tried to follow them. They were all more than a little shaken, and were glad that they were safe. In Panorama City, safe was a relative term of course, but over the last couple of months, things had been especially quiet. Spike just sighed.

"I recognised that guy. He's been seen fighting the Rangers a few times." He told them, neglecting to mention the fact that he had in fact met Dekker before. Back when he was still obsessed with the Pink Ranger, Dekker had seen Spike's Facebook page and thought that his imaginary relationship with Mia was real. As a result, he had taken him and his uncle hostage to draw the Rangers out. "He's one of the more powerful ones."

"Yeah, I think I've seen him on the news." Jimmy agreed. "So, do you think...?"

"I think that if he's back, it can't be long until some of the other really scary ones come back." Spike interrupted him.

"Just in time for the start of our Junior year." Mal grumbled. "Bloody typical."

"Well, at least we still have the weekend right?" Vicky asked them. "We can't exactly leave town or anything, so it's not like we can do anything about it. Maybe we should just try to make the best of it."

"I guess so." Spike said with a shrug. "I guess all that's left for us to do is look forward to the future."

"Well, I already know what's in my future." Jimmy said with a smirk. "A bacon double cheeseburger and extra large fries!"

"You know, I'll never know how you eat so much and stay so small." Mal teased him, shoving his younger friend gently.

"No point worrying on an empty stomach." Jimmy answered. As Spike and his friends all laughed, enjoying what would be their last weekend of freedom before they started back at school, they didn't notice an older guy who had been watching them closely getting up and heading out of the restaurant. He went to a car that was waiting outside, where another man was sitting.

"So, you see what I meant?" He asked him. The first man just nodded.

"Yeah." He sighed. "I just...are you sure this is the only way?"

"We've been over this!" The guy behind the wheel stated coldly. "You can't get weak on me now. If we're going to get what we deserve, we need to be strong."

"I know, it's just..." His words tailed off.

"It's natural to be scared." The man behind the wheel answered as he started the engine. "But soon, it'll all be over."


	4. The New Term

The next couple of days around the Shiba House were far from fun. Since Dekker's little appearance at the Career's fair, a number of new issues had been thrown their way. Firstly, since Dekker had come back, and from the looks of things had completely recovered from his last battle with them, Jayden had been put on notice that it would not be long until Dekker once more renewed his obsessive pursuit of his duel.

That also threw something else into focus. Dekker had been the last of the main flight Nighlock to be sent to the Netherworld to recover. If he had managed to recover fully from his injuries, then it seemed likely that Serrator, Dayu and Octoroo couldn't be far behind him. Presuming they hadn't already recovered, and were waiting on launching whatever Serrator had been plotting all along. The point was, they were now certain that their days of easy battles were quickly coming to an end. Soon enough, the full fury of the Sanzu's forces would be unleashed.

There were dramas within the house as well. Terry was spending a lot of time with his sister, constantly checking up on her injury. They all knew that in many ways, he was trying to avoid Serena more than spend time with Mia. It would only be a couple of days now until she was finally out of the cast, and could resume her place on the team. It was noticeable now that he seemed to be avoiding the others, in particular Serena and Emily like the plague. Whenever he bumped into Serena, they would each kind of mutter a social pleasantry and turn away, finding a reason to leave the room.

Across the last couple of days, Emily had changed a little too. She was, unsurprisingly, spending a lot of time with Serena, but it was more than that. Any time they weren't training, she seemed to always be skulking around, keeping an eye on either Terry or Serena. It hadn't escaped anyone's attention that any of the accidental meetings that ended with awkward silence always happened pretty near where Emily had been seen last. Mia on the other hand, had almost been doing what she could to keep them apart. They both knew how awkward things were between their siblings, and both of them seemed to be trying to resolve it in their own way, with an emphasis of a minor bias towards their own sibling's interests.

Mike and Kevin, meanwhile, were spending much of their time just trying to keep the peace in the house. With Emily and Mia each pulling their own way in order to try and keep their own sibling from harm, it was starting to have a somewhat noticeable effect on their relationship. Mia seemed to be going with the idea of keeping them apart until she was ready to take back her powers, at which time they presumed Terry could go back home. It was pretty solid reasoning all things considered, but Emily seemed determined to try and get them to talk things out, and in the few instances they were together, they could see a gleeful little look on her face. They had guessed that she was pulling for them to sort out their differences, Emily was almost as much of a hopeless romantic as Mia, and the thought of seeing her sister happy with Terry had to have crossed her mind. Unfortunately, it meant that for pretty well the first time in recent memory, the Yellow and Pink Rangers were at crossed purposes. So far their different motives hadn't caused any problems; they just wanted to make sure it stayed that way.

Jayden and Antonio were in the yard; taking in some extra training while Mentor Ji looked on, breathing a sigh. His house, his team was always on edge, but now it just seemed to be getting so much worse. There wasn't one member of the team who didn't feel the pressure building. He had always taken the responsibility of taking care of his team, but right now things were spinning so wildly out of control, he had to wonder if there was anything that would unite his team in their purpose once more. As he watched Jayden practicing, he couldn't help feeling that he had to be feeling it worst of all.

He could remember a time when Jayden didn't even want to have a team. He insisted that he take on the Nighlock alone, refusing to be responsible for the welfare of others. It wasn't that he wasn't aware that he was always responsible for the welfare of others. There were always innocent bystanders to consider, but when things happened that he couldn't prevent, when accidents occurred or something happened that he hadn't anticipated and someone did get hurt, faceless strangers were always easier to shrug off than people he cared about. No one took the team's defeat at Xandred's hands harder than Jayden did. Not only did it mean he wasn't strong enough yet to defeat Xandred, his team had suffered as a result. His new obsession, his new drive was now to ensure that nothing like that would ever happen again.

Jayden managed to take down Antonio, his bokken tapping him gently on the chest on the ground to indicate the 'kill' shot. Antonio just smiled as he reached up for a hand, allowing Jayden to help him up.

"You have both done very well." Ji complimented them. "Antonio, would you mind giving us a minute?"

"I'll catch you up." Jayden told him. "You go and get ready."

Antonio just leaned in, kissing Jayden's cheek softly, before heading back to the house. Jayden just looked to Ji and sighed.

"We're heading into town." Jayden informed him. "Antonio insists he wants to see 'The Expendables 2'."

"Is that the one with all those old action stars that are about sixty?" Ji asked him. Jayden just shrugged.

"He insists the first one was good." Jayden replied. "He even made me promise not to spend the whole movie pointing out the flaws in their technique during the action sequences."

"I can admit that does get a little irritating." Ji chuckled. "Dedication to your art is one thing, but when watching a movie, it is best to simply suspend disbelief."

"Alright Ji, I get the feeling that this isn't really what you want to talk about." Jayden sighed. "Why don't you just tell me what's going on?"

"Perhaps it would be best to wait until after your date." Ji suggested, starting to become a little evasive.

"Well, if it's important..."

"It can wait." Ji assured him, handing Jayden the keys to the SUV. "You go and enjoy yourself."

"Thanks Ji." Jayden stated, before heading into the house to get cleaned up. Ji just took a deep breath, before pulling out his Samuraizer, dialling Brenda.

"It's me." He told her. "No, I haven't managed to talk to him yet."

"Ji..."

"Things are difficult around here, but I will talk to him, I promise." Ji assured her. "This isn't just important to you, it's important to both of us. I just want to make sure I do things the right way."

"Well, I did promise to let you talk with him about it." Brenda told him. "I...I had another scan this week. The pictures came back really clear."

"They did?" Ji asked her with a huge grin. "Can you...?"

"You really don't check your e-mail too often do you?" She chuckled. "They've already been sent."

Ji made his way into the house, sitting by the computer and starting it up. He trapped the phone between his shoulder and the side of his head as he started up his e-mail.

"Wow, I really don't check my E-mail often enough." He grumbled, cycling through almost forty new e-mails. "I've been approved for a loan, I've won a lottery I never entered...alright, am I the only one that finds it a little disturbing and insulting how many companies think I want to buy...?"

"Buy what?" Brenda asked as his words tailed off. Ji just cleared his throat.

"Never mind." Ji spluttered. He finally found an e-mail from Brenda, and opened it up. He felt his heart soaring as he opened the picture attachment. There, on the screen, was the most recent picture of his child.

"It's really something isn't it?" Brenda asked him. "The doctor asked if I wanted to know the..."

"No, that's not necessary." Ji interrupted her, finding himself unable to stop grinning.

"That's what I figured you'd say, so I told him I didn't want to know." She answered. "So, will you...?"

"I'll talk to Jayden when he gets back." He told her. "I want him to be the first to know."

"That's alright by me." She assured him. "I'm in this for the long haul."

"I love you." He told her.

"I love you too." She said in response.

The following morning, Spike got to the High School, full of excitement. Although he knew this year would be hard, and that from now on, his grades would determine his future, he was relishing it. He had never put much thought into his future before now, and from the way many of his fellow students seemed to drift by lazily, he was sure that many of the others in his year probably still didn't, but he had come with a very strong idea of what he wanted to do. He had started his training in order to 'become a samurai' as his Uncle had put it, and his lessons with Cody, his dad and Serena had brought him along well. However, there wasn't exactly a career path as a Samurai, and over time he had found himself craving the closest alternative he could think of.

He was almost bowled over as Vicky seemed to come from nowhere, ambushing him with a tight hug. Cody, Jimmy, Melanie and Mal came over, laughing at the overly enthusiastic greeting.

"Jeez, get a room would you?" Melanie teased them. "There are young and impressionable eyes watching."

"Yeah, try to keep a lid on it would you?" Jimmy agreed, covering his eyes. Spike just shoved him gently.

"Alright, so which way to enrolment?" Spike asked them. Mal just looked to him a little shocked.

"Wait, what?" He asked. "You haven't enrolled yet?"

"No, I figured..."

"Spike, the enrolment table opened an hour ago!" Jimmy told him. "The assembly starts in like twenty minutes! If you don't hurry up, all the good classes will be full!"

Spike was starting to panic now. He had gotten the flyers at the career fair and talked to a representative of the police academy to get advice on what classes to take to give him the best chance. Unfortunately though, he was unfamiliar with how Central Panorama High School handled its enrolment procedure. He had begun the previous term part way through, so he had never actually had to go through enrolment, they just found a way to shoe-horn him into his classes. He started to shift a little and grabbed his bag.

"I better get a move on!" He rushed out. "I'm just going to..."

"Mr Skullovitch!" He heard someone behind him say. He paused as he heard this voice, and turned around slowly, but didn't see anyone. He had to look down to see a little, slightly plump woman with short, brown, slightly greying hair standing behind him. She looked up to him. "The principal would like to see you."

"Wait, what gives?" Spike protested. "I need to enrol..."

"That wasn't a request Mr. Skullovitch." The woman reiterated. She then headed into the school. Spike just threw his hands up.

"Great, I'm here ten minutes and already the principal wants to chew me out!" He grumbled. He hadn't had the best relationship with his principal the previous year. Although he had good grades, and didn't go out of his way to cause trouble, the principal had found his presence at the school somewhat disruptive to the system he had been used to. The order it allowed. Spike just looked to the others. "I'll catch up with you when I can."

He headed into the school building, finding the corridors a hive of activity. The freshman students were all standing around, looking around the corridors like frightened sheep, and looking for some kind of sign what they should be doing. Most of the older kids were getting reacquainted, and were finding their way to their lockers. Several other students were also handing out flyers, advertising the various teams and activities available to them all. Spike, unfortunately didn't have time for any of that. He just made his way to the Principal's office.

He was surprised to find a janitor outside, doing something to the door. He looked like he could only have been a couple of years older than Spike, and he had a set of blue coveralls and a black baseball cap, which he kept pulled down tightly, shielding his face. As he got closer, he saw that the janitor was scraping the little sticky letters off the glass on the door. He just pointed to it, his mouth hanging open as he saw this.

"Wait, what...?"

"Dr. Wardle took the decision to pursue other employment opportunities." The little woman from outside the school told him. "You can finish that later Paul; I need a moment with Mr Skullovitch."

The janitor just nodded and closed the door. Spike felt like the janitor was strangely familiar, but since the new principal seemed to be determined to give him a talking to right from the word go, he decided to concentrate on that.

"Please, take a seat." She told him, showing something of a sweeter disposition that surprised Spike and caught him off-guard. She smiled as he sat down.

"I just had to see this for myself when I saw your surname on the register." She told him, looking to him. She smiled brightly. "Well, I hope the physical resemblance is where it ends. Lord knows I could live without having another Skull."

"You know my...?" He looked a little more closely, before finally the penny dropped. "Miss Appleby?"

"It's Mrs Kaplan now actually." She corrected him. "As I said, Dr Wardle has decided to pursue other career options. I was asked as a favour by the education department to oversee the school here for a year."

"Just for a year?" He asked. She just chuckled.

"I am retired Spike." She told him. "I just got asked to work here for a year. I figured it would pay for a nice cruise for my Silver Wedding at the end of the year."

"Wow, my dad and my uncle always talked very highly of you." He started to stammer out. "I'm sure we..."

"There's no need to go trying to butter me up. It doesn't work I assure you." She told him, presenting him with his schedule. "Your uncle told me he wanted to give you a long lie this morning, so I took the liberty of enrolling you in your classes. I'm sure you'll find everything is in order."

"Wow...um...thanks." Spike answered, taking the schedule from her and folding it away. She just smiled at him.

"You know, it caused quite a stir at Angel Grove High when the news broke that you were on the way." She told him.

"Yeah, dad did say that." He commented. "Back when he was giving me 'the talk', he said that back then the whole teen pregnancy thing was a much bigger deal than it is now. He said that it was almost a bigger story than the Rangers."

"It was indeed." She agreed. "I'll admit, when I heard that your father was expecting a child, I was more than a little sceptical and judgemental about it. He had always been a troublemaker, and I honestly worried."

She looked to him and nodded.

"You have no idea how much the thought of you being in the picture lit a fire under his ass." She told him. "Your uncle too. It really turned both of them around. I can't tell you how proud I was of them both in the end. I consider both of them my two greatest successes."

She shifted a little in her seat, leaning back and inspecting Spike.

"I think it'll be interesting to have another Skullovitch in my care." She told him affectionately. "I'll see you around I'm sure. Now, I believe your friends will be eager to hear what I had to say."

Spike got up, and made his way to the door, opening it, to find that sure enough, Cody, Jimmy, Mal, Melanie and Vicky were all waiting, almost falling into the room as he opened the door, obviously having been eavesdropping. Spike just looked to Mrs Kaplan, who just chuckled and shook her head.

"So predictable." She responded. "On you go, assembly will begin shortly."

With that, they left. Vicky took Spike's arm as they walked.

"Um...is that a new principal?" She asked. Spike just nodded.

"Yeah, it looks like Dr Wardle got fed up with us." Spike told them with a grin on his face. "You know, I think I'm going to enjoy this year."


	5. Ji's Surprise

Ji was in the kitchen, preparing something for dinner. He had sent all the Rangers out of the house, mainly just to get them out of his hair. No one in the house had failed to notice the tension building, and it was all starting to get completely wearing and exhausting just to be around. In the end, it was too much for Ji to take, and he needed some time away from the youngsters, and had all but thrown them out, agreeing to foot the bill for whatever they did that day, just so long as they didn't come back until dinner time.

He had also promised something special for dinner, a way of gathering the team together in what he hoped would be a safe enough setting to finally lance the boil so to speak. He had always respected the privacy of the team, and the fact that even the youngest of them, a now 18-year-old Emily, were all adults, so he tended not to involve himself in their problems beyond merely offering advice if they asked. Now though, he was starting to wonder if that was going to be an option much longer.

He was distracted from his thoughts as he smelled something amazing coming through the back door of the house. He turned around to see possibly the most beautiful sight he could possibly imagine, his pregnant girlfriend Brenda, carrying a couple of bakery-fresh apple pies. She came across, putting the pies down on the counter, and kissing him softly.

"I decided to bring dessert." She told him. "You do want to make kind of an event out of all this."

"I suppose I really should." He sighed. "I didn't manage to talk to Jayden when he got home. He and Antonio got home quite late from their movie."

"So...he still doesn't know?" Brenda asked him. Ji shook his head.

"Regretfully no." He told her. "I'll call him and ask him to come home a little early. I think it's for the best that I speak to him before we talk to the others."

He turned down the heat under the pot, before turning back to her, smiling.

"Anyway, enough about me how are my two favourite people?" He asked her.

"The morning sickness is getting easier to deal with." She said in an off-hand way, wrapping her arms around him. "The HR office is bugging me to arrange my maternity leave."

"That isn't for a few months." Ji stated. She just nodded.

"I know, but he's one of those guys that needs everything done in triplicate four years before anyone even knows that they want it." She told him. "If it was up to him, all of us would have already booked the time off for our own funerals."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating." He chuckled. She just looked at him with her mouth hanging open.

"He actually tried to dock Claire three day's wages for going on her maternity leave early." She informed him.

"Well, if she did..."

"She went into labour eight weeks premature." Brenda interrupted him. Ji just looked to her in disbelief. "He actually sulked when legal told him that she'd pretty much take the department for everything we had if he tried."

"Wow, a government employee with a power streak, no heart and no grasp of the real world?" Ji gasped in mock surprise. "Who would have ever thought?"

"Hey, I'm a government employee remember?" She answered, shoving him gently. "Anyway, I'll just be in the Living Room checking my E-mail. No doubt Walter's sent me yet ANOTHER reminder about this."

"You know where the computer is." Ji said softly, gesturing through. "I'll be through in a moment."

He turned his attention back to the stew he was making, giving it a stir, and checking the flavour, before adding a few more herbs. He had chosen the recipe since he had invited Brenda around. He knew that it would take a couple of hours to simmer and reduce, which made it perfect to just leave. His vegetables were already prepared, and would only need to be cooked a little while before serving, meaning he was now free to enjoy the rest of the day with Brenda.

Making his way into the Living Room, he found her sitting by the computer, and placed his hands on her shoulders, beginning to rub them gently.

"So, it'll be a while before I call Jayden to come home." He told her. "If you've finished ignoring Walter..."

"Ji...I haven't even opened my E-mail yet." She told him. "Um...you guys haven't been using this computer in a while have you?"

"No, things have been a little busy." Ji admitted. "I accessed my E-mail yesterday but..."

"Well, the last person who used the internet didn't erase the browser history." She informed him. She moved the chair a little to the side, letting Ji in to see what she had found. "I don't think you're the only one that has big news."

"Proposition 8?" Ji asked, scrolling through some of the search topics. "Legal status of same gender marriage in California?"

"I think...you and Jayden should probably move up that talk of yours." She suggested, taking his hand gently in hers. "Something tells me that he has something pretty important on his mind."

"Jayden?" He asked, taking a seat with her, his head starting to throb as he tried to wrap his mind around what he had learned. "He...he always talked to me about everything. Why didn't he say anything?"

"Maybe he wanted to talk to Antonio first?" She suggested, putting her arm around him. Ji just reached over, switching off the computer.

"I suppose I always knew that this day would come." Ji commented. "It's still a surprise though."

"Well, I guess he and his old man aren't too different." She added. "It looks like you both get to share your news."

In another part of town, Mike had taken Emily to the arcade for a while. Although she wasn't really much of a gamer, and only joined in on occasion because of Mike, it was one of the few things he could think of suggesting for them to do. Terry had gone to the hospital to entertain the children's ward, while Serena had gone out to Kieran's place to work out, while she waited for Spike and Cody to finish school. Unsurprisingly, considering the fact they had a day to themselves, Jayden and Antonio had opted to head off somewhere by themselves for some time alone.

That had left Kevin, Mia, Emily and himself at a loose end. Mike and Kevin had already been trying to keep the peace between their respective fiancées. Neither of them really wanted to be at odds, probably the main reason things hadn't escalated into anything, but that didn't mean there wasn't a subtle undercurrent given their respective loyalty to their siblings. All in, when Mia and Kevin decided to go to the beach, Mike had figured it was best not to tempt fate by having them spend a full day together, and suggested they come here.

Emily was standing, watching Mike blasting zombies with a look of delight on his face. She still couldn't quite understand why he loved games that involved blowing things up and fighting so much when that was what he did in real life on pretty much a daily basis. She was quite content just to watch for now. She wasn't really in much of a mood to play games anyway.

As Mike managed to best the high score, he threw his hands up, whooping loudly, putting the gun back in the cabinet, before doing a backward somersault in celebration. Emily could only look around, seeing the attention he was drawing. Sometimes Mike could become somewhat oblivious to the fact that he could cause a scene with his exuberant nature. She went over to him, grabbing his sleeve and tugging on it.

"Mike..."

"Did you see that?" Mike asked as he started to enter his name on the high score screen. "Read it and weep ETJ, there's a new Zombie slayer in town!"

"Mike, calm down." Emily whispered to him. "Please, let's just go and get a milkshake or..."

"Who's the daddy?" Mike called out, ignoring her somewhat as more people started to crowd around. "Yeah, I totally OWN this game! WHOO!"

"Sir, please try to calm down." He heard someone say, clamping a hand down on his shoulder. "If you don't calm down, I'll have to ask you to..."

As Mike turned around, he saw the face of the guy standing there light up. He was wearing a black t-shirt with the arcade's logo on the chest.

"Mike?" He asked. Mike recognised him instantly.

"Reece?" He called out in response, grabbing the guy and pulling him into a tight hug, laughing.

"Where the hell have you been?" Reece asked him. "It's been...wow, almost two years since that thing with the big fists clobbered us."

"Yeah, about that..." Mike started to say, but Reece held up a hand.

"Hey, Matthew and I spent a couple of weeks in the hospital after that." He told him. "I guess you just ended up in a different hospital right?"

"Yeah, that's right." Mike laughed nervously, just going along with the lie. He had always felt guilty about the fact Matt and Reece got hurt because they were hanging around with him. It was a pretty harsh lesson in exactly why Ji had forbidden them to contact their friends and family. He felt a little worse finding out that they had been hurt so badly that they had spent weeks in the hospital. He was sure Reece probably felt sorry for Mike knowing that he had been hurt badly. Mike couldn't correct him and let him know his own injuries had been relatively minor. It just made him feel worse about involving his friends.

"So, what's with the get-up? You work here?" Mike asked him. Reece just nodded.

"Assistant manager!" He informed him, puffing out his chest with pride. "They say you should get a job doing something you love right?"

"I guess so." Mike agreed.

"So, did you forget about me or something?" Emily asked him. Mike just smiled and guided her over.

"Reece, this is my fiancée Emily. Emily, this is my friend Reece." He introduced them. Reece had to do something of a double-take.

"Wait, did you say fiancée?" He asked with a huge smile on his face. "OK, we definitely have a lot to catch up on. She is...wow...!"

"That's what I tell myself all the time." Mike answered, putting his arm around her.

"Say, you really need to catch up with Matthew." He told him. "Come on, I'll..."

"He's here?" Mike asked him. Reece just nodded.

"He's the manager!" He informed him. "Come on, let's go!"

"Emily...?"

"Alright, let's go." She said with a smile, finding her spirits lifted by how happy Mike was at seeing his old friends again. "We can get those milkshakes..."

"Perks of the job, there's a machine right in the office!" Reece assured them, putting an arm around each of them and leading them towards the office. "So Emily, anything you can tell me about what Mike's been up to?"

"I think I could come up with a few interesting stories." She chuckled as they went with him towards the office.

Back at the school, Spike and his friends were in the assembly hall; listening to the longest, dullest assembly they could ever remember. The school always started the year with an assembly, to welcome the new students, and to impress upon the older students how important their remaining time was. Spike was roused as he was about to drift off by Vicky gently shaking him.

"It's the principal's speech." She told him. "It's nearly over."

"It's about time." Mal grumbled. "I swear, maybe the welcome speech would motivate us all more if it didn't bore us into a coma."

"Thank you Mr. Taylor, you are most kind." Mrs Kaplan said, taking the podium. She looked out over the student body. "I'm sure all of you are well on your way to falling asleep, so I'll keep this brief. As you can see, Dr Wardle is no longer with us. He has elected to pursue other career opportunities, and I think we would all like to wish him well in his future endeavours."

"Translation: The education board found out how useless the guy was and sacked his sorry ass." Jimmy said, causing a little laugh from his row.

"I'm Mrs Kaplan, and for the coming year, I will be your principal." She introduced herself in a friendly manner. "I know by now many of you will have heard people say they have an open door policy, but in my case, I would just like to assure you that it is not just words. Feel free to stop by if there is anything that concerns you, or if you feel like there is something we can do to make your time here a more enjoyable experience."

"So, she's trying to be our friend?" Melanie asked. "How long do you think that'll last?"

"My dad knew her." Spike informed them. "He always said she was on the level."

"So, without any further delay, I wish you all well in the coming year." Mrs Kaplan told them. "Work hard, ask questions, and let's all make this year a good one for each other. Now, I think we can all let you out for recess a little early today. You are dismissed."

As Spike and his friends gathered their belongings, rushing to the door before they ended up getting crushed by the inevitable stampede, they pulled to the side of the door and let everyone rush past.

"Got to love those stampedes!" Cody chuckled as he saw the kids rush past. "You know, it may be a new school to me, but it seems just the same."

"A bunch of kids locked in together all day with minimal adult supervision." Mal agreed with a nod. "Yup, they're all the same."

As they all started to head off to find another exit, to avoid the scrum at the main door, Melanie just pointed down the hall.

"Maybe we can get out there." She suggested. One of the emergency exits was open, with the alarm disconnected. They saw the young janitor manhandling some boxes in through the door, and unlocking the door to the basement.

"I don't think we're meant to use the fire exit sweetie." Mal suggested.

"Well, the janitors are using it." Spike said with a shrug. "I guess the main door is a lot further from the basement door."

"I think they might be a bit busy." Cody added, pointing out another couple of janitors in coveralls bringing in more boxes. Spike furrowed his brows.

"When did this place ever have three janitors?" He asked them.

"The way this place is falling apart, don't you think we need it?" Vicky asked him. "Come on, there's another door down this way."


	6. Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Ji waited nervously on a bench outside the Shiba House with Brenda as he waited for Jayden to come back. He had sent him a text message asking him to come home a little early, hoping to talk to him before dinner. He had always intended to do so, he had a lot to talk to Jayden about, and he wanted him to be the first one he spoke to before he made his announcement to the others. However, he hadn't counted on what Brenda had found on the computer's search history. It seemed that Jayden too had something to talk about.

Brenda held his hand softly as he looked to his Samuraizer again, hoping to see a message.

"I'm sure he's on his way." She told him. "It's only been twenty minutes."

"It feels like a lot longer." Ji admitted. Just then, Jayden and Antonio came in through the gate, laughing and joking as they went. Ji just stood up, starting to approach nervously as he saw them, suddenly finding his thoughts becoming muddled. He wanted to tell Jayden about his news, but his instincts as a father meant he really was more interested in hearing what Jayden had to say. Jayden just looked to him.

"Alright Ji, you wanted to talk." Jayden said as he composed himself.

"Yes...I...uh..." Ji started to stammer. Brenda saw the awkward silence and just sighed, before looking to Antonio.

"Would you mind giving me a hand?" She asked him. "I think there are still some preparations to do before dinner."

"Well, Ji said..."

"Please, I don't know where everything is." Brenda told him, taking his arm. As Antonio left with her, Ji just nodded in thanks. He was already struggling to find what he wanted to say, and he appreciated her ensuring that they got some privacy. Jayden just looked to Ji, seemingly becoming a little concerned. He was pretty astute when it came to his father figure, and could tell when something was serious.

"Ji, what is it?" He asked. Ji just gestured him over to a table, where Jayden sat, seeing a bottle of whisky, and two glasses waiting. Ji picked up the bottle.

"This is a thirty year old single malt." He told him. "Your father gave this to me on the day he found out that your mother was pregnant with you."

"I haven't..."

"It has a lot of sentimental value. I have kept it in a private store for safe keeping." He continued. "Your father told me that I should save it for a special day. Today, I think is that day."

He cracked open the bottle, and poured both of them a glass. Jayden still wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but the way Ji was acting, he knew it had to mean a great deal to him. He lifted a glass, gesturing for a toast, which Jayden accepted, before taking a drink. Jayden did likewise, before looking back to him.

"We have had quite a time together have we not?" He asked him. "The last couple of years especially have been somewhat interesting."

"They really have." Jayden agreed with a little chuckle. "The others...they can definitely be interesting."

"That is an understatement." Ji stated. "At times I wondered if I would be the first to strangle Mike or you would."

"I can't say I wasn't tempted in the early days." Jayden agreed with a little smile. "Kevin I could deal with, and Mia, as long as she wasn't cooking seemed to be good, but Mike..."

"And you do remember Emily clearly." Ji stated.

"How can I forget?" He asked in response. "When she started training, she seemed like she was more of a danger to herself than anyone else!"

Ji agreed as he took another sip. Jayden just breathed a sigh and looked to his glass.

"Ji, this isn't just a nostalgia thing is it?" Jayden asked him. "What's on your mind?"

"I was just thinking about how much all of you have grown." He began. "I did the best I could raising you, and I know I've made some mistakes..."

"Ji, I couldn't have asked for a better father figure." Jayden assured him. "I wouldn't be the man I am today if it wasn't for you."

"And that is exactly what you are, you are a man." Ji answered, picking up on what Jayden had said. "I'd love to have the arrogance to believe that is all down to me, but you have grown a lot on your own into a man that I am proud to know, and to think of as a son."

"I'm glad." Jayden replied. Ji just took a deep breath.

"Still, like all men do, you will move on." Ji said with a little sadness in his tone. "We have a lot left to face, but in time..."

"Ji, we've already talked about this." Jayden interrupted him. "I might have been a bit of a baby about it at first, but I've already accepted that you'll be moving in with Brenda and the baby."

"Yes, well...there is something else." He told him, setting down the glass. "Brenda and I have been talking. We..."

"I think I see where this is going." Jayden said with a smile as he extended a hand. "Congratulations."

Ji was overjoyed to hear that Jayden had accepted his decision. He loved Brenda with all his heart. He knew that he hadn't exactly done things the traditional or 'right' way as his father would have seen, but he did have a certain sense of tradition that meant he wanted to be married by the time the baby came along. He was wary of bringing the subject up, the whole reason he wanted to tell Jayden before he made the announcement to the others. He needed to be sure his son was alright with his decision before he went any further.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you're alright with this." Ji told him, shaking his hand warmly. "I was so nervous about telling you..."

"Hey, I may have been a baby about things before, but I can see you're really happy with her." Jayden stated warmly. "Besides, like you said, one day we're all going to move on."

"Yes, indeed we will." Ji answered with a huge grin, pouring them each another glass. "I suppose we have a couple of weddings to look forward to."

"Well, I guess I'd be pretty pissed if I didn't at least warrant an invitation to Mia and Kevin's wedding." He said, taking a sip. "And I have a feeling Mike and Emily's will be something that just has to be seen."

"Then of course, there is always you and Antonio." Ji pressed on. Jayden just furrowed his brows.

"Yeah, I guess we'll move in together or something." Jayden stated. "I mean, he already lives here anyway, so..."

"Jayden, it's quite alright." Ji assured him. "I just want you to know, I wasn't snooping..."

"OK?" Jayden asked nervously.

"I found what you've been looking up on the search history." Ji told him. Jayden just looked at him blankly. "I know that you and Antonio have not been together especially long, but I can see how much you care for each other. I suppose it is only natural you would want to take that step."

"I'm afraid you've lost me." Jayden said, shaking his head. Ji just took his hand gently.

"You are my son and I love you. I will do anything I can to help you in whatever you want to do." Ji continued. "It may not be legal at present in this state for two men to marry, but I will do anything I can to help..."

"Whoa, wait what?" Jayden asked him.

"We can campaign to have things changed; there are already campaigns in the works." Ji assured him. "We could always go to another state or another country for the ceremony..."

"Married?" Jayden asked him. "Ji, what makes you think I want to get married?"

"Like I said, we found some things in the search history that hadn't been deleted." Ji informed him. "When you were looking up proposition 8 and the legal status of same-gender marriage..."

His words tailed off, seeing the look on Jayden's face. It seemed to be as much of a surprise for him as it was for Ji. It was only then that he realised his mistake. As soon as he had heard about the subject of those searches, he had automatically presumed that it was Jayden who had performed those searches. Jayden's expression noticeably changed as Ji realised what had happened. It was Antonio who had been looking that up. Jayden got up and finished his drink.

"Jayden, I'm sorry..."

"Congratulations Ji." He whispered, his voice barely escaping his body. His eyes darted around, unable to seem to decide where they should be looking. "I know you'll both be very happy."

With that, he left. Ji just slumped down on the stool, holding his head in his hands. He had been worried about talking about his intention of marrying Brenda with Jayden, but it seemed he had already accepted that. However, in his own joy and excitement, it seemed he had managed to throw something of a spanner in the works with Jayden's relationship. Clearly Antonio hadn't yet brought up the subject. He couldn't help feeling guilty. He only hoped he hadn't caused too much harm.


	7. Ji's Wedding Plans

Terry ignored his cell phone buzzing with yet another message to remind him when he was meant to be home. He already knew that Ji wanted all the Samurai home tonight for some huge announcement or other he had planned. He didn't really know why, and to be brutally honest, he didn't care either.

The whole Serena situation had completely screwed with his head. When he came to the Shiba House, when Emily called him to tell him that Mia was out of action, he only ever intended to be there for a couple of weeks. He only intended to take Mia's place for a short time while she recovered. While he had met the others and knew of them, he didn't know them especially well. He had always expected his time there to be uneventful. Sadly, fate wasn't that kind.

He had fallen for Serena, and he had fallen for her hard. He knew it was something his sister would likely have lectured him about endlessly, but he couldn't help the way he felt about her. He had begun his time at the Shiba House trying to win her over because...to be frank...he pissed her off to the point she was ready to batter him to death with the nearest blunt instrument she could reach! His ill-considered peanut joke still stood as one of the most epic fails of his life, but when Serena had took him aside and kicked the crap out of him, there was something he couldn't deny. She was everything he wished he could have been. She was always there for her family, and she was always ready to defend them, just like he wished he could have for Mia.

He had put his guitar away, since a number of the younger kids were asleep, and was just playing quietly with a few of the older kids. It made him feel a little better, but he still couldn't get Serena out of his mind. He noticed a little tug on the leg of his jeans, and looked down, seeing one of the girls trying to get his attention.

"Jessie." He greeted her with a forced smile. "You know you should be trying to rest. Your surgery is only in a few hours."

"I can't sleep." She told him. He understood why she was nervous, in a couple of hours she was scheduled to have her appendix removed. It was a pretty routine procedure, but it was always a scary thing to face surgery. He brought the young girl up onto the bed, and looked to her face.

"I told you, it's not a huge deal." He continued. "The doctors do this all the time."

"I know, It's just...I'm scared." She reiterated.

"Like I said, you don't have to be." He told her. "I'll even come around tomorrow to see you. You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Would you bring your girlfriend?" She asked him. Terry just looked at her a little curiously. "You know, that Serena girl you brought last time."

"Well, she isn't my girlfriend." Terry clarified.

"But...you do want her to be right?" Jessie asked her. He just smiled.

"It's that obvious is it?" He asked her. Jessie just nodded in response. Terry always loved that about kids, there was just no way to lie to them. They could see right through people, and were always able to see the truth. It was refreshing to be around kids, it was just one of the reasons he loved his voluntary work at the hospital. "Well, yeah, I do like her like that. I just don't know if she feels the same way."

"I think she does." Jessie told him. Terry just sighed.

"Well, I'm not sure it's a good time right now." Terry continued. "You see, Serena really liked another guy, and not that long ago, she lost him. She's still really upset over that."

"That's sad." She said in response. "So will her old boyfriend be coming back?"

"I'm afraid not." Terry told her. Jessie just shrugged.

"Well, maybe a new boyfriend will help her be happy again." She suggested. "Maybe you should ask her to come with you tomorrow."

"You just lie down and try to get some rest." He told her. "I'll come and see you again tomorrow."

As he left, he couldn't help thinking about what Jessie had said to him. He really liked Serena, and he didn't want to risk doing anything that would drive her away. He was always mindful of what she had been through. He just sighed and shook his head. He wished life was as simple as Jessie seemed to think it was.

Back at Central High School, the day was drawing to a close. Spike and his friends were about to leave. Their first week had been going well so far, and although they knew it would be a while before things really started to pick up, they were feeling a lot more comfortable with their new schedules.

As they met up in the hall, they noticed a few kids gathered around, pointing and laughing at one of the janitors. Spike just furrowed his brows as he saw this. He knew that there was something about the new janitor that seemed odd, but now it seemed he was drawing attention from a lot of the other kids.

"What's that all about?" Spike asked. Jimmy and Cody arrived from the crowd, having been drawn by the commotion as well. Jimmy came across, looking to Spike.

"Well, I figured out why that new janitor always hid his face with that cap." Jimmy told them. "It's Clyde."

"Clyde Matthews?" He asked in response. "What's he doing here?"

"Yeah, he graduated last term." Mal added. "I heard he was offered a football scholarship to..."

"That's the thing; it wasn't a full-ride scholarship." Jimmy told them. "He still needed to pay some of the tuition, but it turns out his dad's military pension..."

"Let me guess." Melanie grumbled. "My dad's company?"

"Turns out he couldn't afford to go." Jimmy told them, nodding to confirm the detail.

"Wonderful." Melanie sighed. "Yet another guy's life my dad managed to screw up."

"One minute he's the school football star, the next, he's cleaning the toilets." Cody muttered. "I guess everyone needs a pay check."

"Let's go." Mal stated, putting his arm around Melanie, knowing that she had to feel badly about what had happened to Clyde. Although she hadn't done anything, it still didn't stop her feeling badly whenever something like this reminded her about her father's crimes. "We don't need to hang around."

Back at the Shiba House, everyone finally arrived home, all with the exception of Serena, who was at Kieran's house, waiting to begin her lessons with Spike and Cody. Everyone had made the most of their day, something that Ji had intended when he suggested they all split up for the day. He knew that things were starting to build up in the house that threatened to unsettle the delicate balance in the house. Now, they were all back in the house, helping to prepare the table for dinner, they were talking politely, sharing what they had gotten up to that day.

The one thing he did feel guilty about, seeing how quiet Jayden was, he felt guilty about was inadvertently getting involved in his relationship. When he had found the subjects of same gender marriage on the computer's search engine, he had just presumed it was Jayden who had been looking up his options. Unfortunately, it seemed like it was Antonio. He hadn't yet brought up the subject with Jayden by the looks of things. Jayden seemed to be just as shocked as he was hearing that Antonio planned to propose. It wasn't like he and Antonio had been together particularly long. Indeed, it was only a little over a year since Jayden had come to terms with the fact that he was gay. Ji regretted the fact that he had caused the rift.

He saw Terry with his sister, checking on her wrist. It had only ever been intended that he take her place while she recovered, and he was starting to side with Mia's way of thinking. Perhaps it would be for the best if Terry simply left the house sooner than later. He seemed to satisfy himself that her wrist was healing well, since this time he didn't bother with a cast, instead just wrapping her wrist in a bandage.

"I reckon a couple more days is all that's needed." Terry told her. "You'll get your Samuraizer back in no time."

"It's about time." She responded. "I can't tell you how crazy it's been driving me watching you guys do all the fighting while I was only able to watch."

"Well, you're only going to be on the sidelines a little longer." Terry told her. As the others came to the table, carrying the dishes of food, Ji and Brenda took their place at the top of the table.

"Well, as you all know, a lot has been happening around the house, and we have all felt the resurgence of energy from the Sanzu River." Ji began, taking his seat. "It has become clear that we can expect Serrator to return any time soon."

"Whatever's coming, we'll be ready for it." Mike assured him.

"It has also been no secret that we have had to deal with a lot of hardship lately." He told them. "Which is why, I feel that perhaps it is time we had something to celebrate."

He took Brenda's hand softly, smiling as he did so. They had talked about it, and wanted to be married before the baby came, but there was also something else.

"Brenda and I have decided to get married." He announced, causing a bit of a stir from the table. They were all thrilled about the thought of a wedding.

"That's amazing news, congratulations!" Emily gushed out. "Have you decided on a date?"

"We had thought we wanted to be married before the baby comes." He informed them. "We also thought that perhaps it would be best to enjoy what little quiet time we have left. We plan to marry at the end of the week."

"Wow, that's...that's not a lot of time!" Mia remarked. "Are you sure?"

"I don't have any family." Brenda said with a little shrug. "Everyone I want at the wedding is right here."

"That is how I feel also." Ji answered. "I have a friend at town hall, and it shouldn't take long to get the marriage licence. Then all we need is someone to read the ceremony."

"We wanted to have the ceremony in the garden." Brenda informed them all. "We thought about it, and we really think this is what we both want."

"Well, I for one am happy for you both." Jayden stated, hugging both Ji and Brenda. "You know I'll be there."

"I will too." Kevin assured them.

"We all will." Mia added with a nod. "You don't have to worry about that."

"Well then, I suppose Friday it is!" Ji announced happily, raising a glass. "To the future."

"To the future." They all chorused as they clinked their glasses together, celebrating the coming wedding. They could all feel something big coming soon, and they were only too happy to have something to celebrate at last.


	8. Wedding Preparations

The following day started out very busy in the Shiba House. Although Ji and Brenda only intended a simple ceremony, with no real to do, there was still a surprising amount of planning to be done. For one thing, even though they planned to have the ceremony in the house, that didn't mean they could just have the ceremony there while the place was in its usual state. The whole place needed to be cleaned from top to bottom, and Mia insisted that if they were going to do a simple thing in the house, then at very least they had to decorate a little. It was a minor concession that he was willing to make to satisfy the Pink Ranger's wedding obsession. He guessed it was a little disappointing that the first wedding in the group wouldn't be the kind of magazine-worthy spectacle she would no doubt have liked. Mia and Kevin led the charge getting the house and the garden ready for the ceremony.

Antonio was sharing cooking duties with Mia, while he also shared entertainment duties with Terry. They weren't planning much, just a modest party, but there was no reason that a little music would be out of the question. Ji didn't like to admit it, but he did enjoy it when they would jam together, and a private concert would be better than any gift they would likely be able to get at short notice.

Emily and Serena had gone with Brenda back to her apartment for a couple of days to prepare. Even in this somewhat less than traditional set of circumstances, they insisted he not see the bride until the ceremony. Mike had made some careless remark that he had already done a lot more than just see her...and as a result now had a bad limp from Serena's retaliatory attack. Mike wasn't too happy about not being with Emily for the next couple of days, but he knew that she had her Samuraizer in case she was needed in the field.

That left Mike and Jayden to arrange the rest of the details. Jayden was on the phone, making some calls to arrange details like a tailor to come around the day before the wedding to fit them all for outfits, and ensuring Ji's friend at city hall had made the necessary arrangements for the marriage licence. Unfortunately, this left Mike at something of a loose end, and he had taken this to mean that he was the Best Man. It didn't matter how many times others, including Jayden reminded him that Jayden had been chosen as Best Man, by virtue of having nothing else of note to do, he was busy trying to plan a bachelor party. Ji was reluctant at first, but eventually they all realised that an occupied Mike was far less dangerous than a bored Mike, and just left him to it.

That left Ji to arrange the one thing he had left to do. He needed to collect the rings from the jewellers. He started to gather together his belongings, when Terry noticed him getting ready to leave. He saw this and put down his guitar, coming over.

"We'll finish this up later." Terry told him. "Ji, are you heading into town?"

"Yes, I am." He told him.

"Well, would you mind giving me a ride into town?" Terry asked him. "I kind of promised one of the kids at the hospital I'd drop in on her today."

"The hospital is on my path." Ji assured him. "I think we should be able to manage a minor detour."

"Great!" Terry rushed out, gathering up his jacket. "I shouldn't be long. It'll only take..."

"Take your time." Ji told him, looking around to where a frantic Mia was having a rather heated discussion with Kevin. As she often did whenever she was particularly agitated, she had switched to Japanese, the only reason that he was sure everyone in the house wasn't shocked by some of her language. Only himself, Kevin and Jayden, all of whom were fluent in the language seemed to know what the discussion was about, but everyone other than Kevin was wise enough to just stay away from her. "I have a feeling that Mia is more nervous about this wedding than I am."

"Believe me; I know all about that." Terry chuckled. "One time when we were kids, I made the mistake of getting one of her dolls' wedding dresses dirty before her 'big day'. I don't mind telling you she really gave me hell for that."

"Why do I not doubt you?" Ji responded as they got outside, heading for his bike. "I have a feeling it may be worth taking our time with our respective errands."

As they left, Jayden was just finishing up with some of his calls, and noticed that now Antonio was at something of a loose end, at least, he was until Terry came back. He looked around, seeing that everyone else was more than a little busy; he figured that this was the best chance he would get to talk to Antonio.

He came across, finding Antonio looking through some of his sheet music, trying to figure out a play list for the wedding. He knew that it was Ji and Brenda's day primarily, and he was tailoring the list to their tastes, but he also wanted to put in a couple of songs for the others too. Jayden just picked up one of the sheets and smiled.

"This looks new." He commented. He didn't know too much about music, but he had hung around Antonio long enough to pick up a few things about how to read music. He was also sure that he had never heard this piece before. Antonio just smiled.

"Terry and I were working on it." He informed him. "You know, we thought it would be a nice present for them."

"You're writing them a song?" Jayden asked him. Antonio nodded in response. Jayden took a seat with him and sighed. "You know, all this...the wedding, it really gets you thinking doesn't it?"

"I guess it really does." Antonio agreed. "I mean, with Xandred out of the picture for the foreseeable future, we can really concentrate on the others. Maybe by the time he can come back, we'll have gotten rid of the others."

"You mean..."

"For the first time since I came here, the end really is in sight." Antonio admitted. "I can really see an end to all of this."

"Which I guess means that you're thinking about the future." Jayden suggested.

"Yeah, I really am." Antonio admitted, looking to where Kevin was following Mia around, and they were still discussing arrangements in Japanese, becoming more than a little stressed with each other. "All of this, how can we not start thinking about the fact that we have at least two more weddings to look forward to."

"All going well, I guess so." Jayden answered. "No doubt Kevin will go all out to give Mia some fairytale deal."

"Given the way she's screaming at him now, can you blame him?" Antonio laughed. "I mean, she's been on the poor guy's case all morning, and it isn't even her wedding!"

"Emily and Mike, I heard them say something about a little place in Emily's home town." Jayden continued, shifting a little closer. "With the exception of the Tengen Gate and Manalua, I've never really been outside the city before. It'd be really interesting to see what it's like to be out in the country."

"Yeah, just try to remember to avoid all the cow poop." Antonio stated. Jayden took a deep breath, deciding that now was probably the best chance he would get to bring up the subject.

"Antonio, I was on the computer recently, I went to do an internet search." Jayden told him, beginning to shift his feet nervously as he told Antonio the semi-truthful version of how he found out. "You...um...forgot to delete the browser history."

"I forgot to delete...?" Antonio began to say, before suddenly he realised what Jayden was getting at. It had been a while since Antonio had used the computer. Thinking about it, the last time he used it was before they got trapped in the movies by the ancestors. When he was searching for... He could see the way Jayden was looking at him, hoping for an explanation.

"Marriage?" Jayden asked him. "You want to get married?"

"Well...I...I don't know." Antonio struggled to get out. He just breathed a huge sigh, trying to compose his thoughts. "Look, I don't know what I was thinking. I guess with all of this stuff happening, with everyone getting all excited about weddings...I guess it kind of got to me. I just...I guess I just wanted to see what our options were."

He slumped down into his chair and held his head in his hands.

"Look, I'm sorry if I freaked you out Jay." He said apologetically. "The only reason I didn't talk to you about it is because I guess I wasn't thinking about it too seriously."

"You weren't?" Jayden asked him quietly. Antonio just shook his head.

"Look, I know how I feel about you. As far as I'm concerned, I can't imagine feeling this way about anyone else." He told him. "Who knows, maybe one day, it might happen. I guess though...I just wanted to see what our options were."

"Really?" Jayden asked him. Antonio just nodded. Jayden took his hand softly, and looked to him. "So, what did you find out?"

"I found out it kind of sucks." Antonio muttered. "What does it say about a country where it's legal to marry your cousin in more states than it is for two men or two women to marry?"

"Really?" Jayden asked him. Antonio just nodded.

"Same gender marriage is only legally recognised in four states." Antonio told him. "It was legal in California for a while, but there was some kind of legal thing, and it's been suspended for years. They've still never resolved it."

"What is everyone's problem with this?" Jayden asked him. Antonio just shrugged.

"I guess people are just reluctant to let anything change from what they know." Antonio suggested. Jayden put an arm around him, holding him closely.

"Well, maybe we should look into that." He suggested. Antonio just looked at him.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"Well, you said it was legal for a while. Obviously someone's fighting for those rights." Jayden told him with a smile. "Sure, one day we might decide to get married, and on that day, we could always go and find somewhere that would let us do that, but you know what I say? Why should we have to?"

"You're serious about this aren't you?" Antonio asked him. Jayden nodded.

"The Shiba Family fortune could really help some of those campaigns." Jayden told him. "Who knows? Maybe by the time things change, you and I will be ready to be the first ones to go to city hall and share the way we feel about one another with the world."

"That...that sounds like a future worth fighting for." Antonio agreed. "I love you."

"I love you too." Jayden answered, leaning in and kissing him softly.

Over at Brenda's apartment, Emily, Serena and Brenda were making some arrangements. Ji had already arranged for someone to come around and take measurements for outfits for the big day. They only had two days, so the tailor would be doing most of the work at the shop, before bringing them around on the Thursday for final alterations.

As the tailor left, he almost bumped into Terry on the landing outside. Emily saw him and looked around frantically, hoping Ji wasn't with him.

"Terry, what are you doing here?" She asked him. "You're not meant to..."

She then noticed that he was standing, with a somewhat dazed expression on his face. He was holding a soft toy in his hands, a little teddy bear wearing a Pink Ranger uniform. She looked up to him, thinking initially about the issue between him and Serena, but he didn't look like he was there to see her. Indeed, he didn't look like he knew where he was, or what he was doing.

"Terry, what is it?" Emily asked him. Just then, Serena appeared in the doorway. She saw him, and could instinctively tell something was wrong. She came up to him.

"Terry?" She asked him weakly. "Terry..."

"Serena?" He asked her, starting to shift a little uncomfortably.

"Terry, what's wrong?" She asked him. "Why are you here?"

"Um...I don't know, I was just at the hospital and then...I started walking and I ended up here." He told them. Serena just guided him inside. She looked to him as Emily went to prepare some tea. Brenda could tell as well that he was upset about something. Serena saw the bear in his hands, and reached out for it.

"Terry, who's this for?" She asked him. He just stared at her blankly.

"It's for Jessie." He told her. "I said I'd visit today."

"Terry, why didn't you give this to her?" Serena asked, remembering him talking about the kids at the hospital. "Terry...?"

"She was only getting her appendix out." He whispered quietly. "It's...it's a routine thing, they must do it thousands of times a week."

"Terry, what's going on?" She asked him. He looked up to her, tears running down his face.

"I promised her she would be alright." He told her. "I promised..."

With that, Serena took him in her arms, holding him tightly as he broke down and wept.


	9. Terry's Crisis

Serena had taken Terry to Brenda's bedroom for some privacy, while Emily and Brenda remained in the other room. Serena had never seen Terry so distraught, so completely broken. In all the time she had known him, she had generally always seen the lively, goofy, funny side of him that he generally showed the world, but she had also seen that there was a lot more to him. To see him this way though was heart-wrenching. It was like someone had taken every ounce of joy from him in one morning. Since the Nighlock fed on misery, she had to imagine that right now Terry was pretty much an all-you can eat buffet.

He had since stopped crying, but he was still incredibly morose. He barely said a word since he had told her about Jessie. Serena had only been to the hospital once, but she knew how much the kids meant to Terry. Apparently this Jessie had made quite an impression on him. As he held the Pink Samurai teddy bear, he breathed a sigh, before finally speaking.

"It was just an appendectomy." He whispered in a barely audible voice. "They teach that to the surgical interns in their first couple of months. It should be as simple as..."

"Terry, you can't over-analyse this." Serena said sympathetically. "It's a surgical procedure under general anaesthetic. You know there's always a risk."

"I promised her it would be alright." He said again, holding the bear closely. "It should have been alright, they do this thousands of times..."

"Terry, you have to stop beating yourself up over this." She told him categorically. "For starters, you weren't in that operating room. There's nothing you could have done to change anything that happened."

"But..."

"Secondly, you may only be in second year, but you already know enough to know that sometimes, things just go badly." She interrupted him. "In the same day, a hospital can get a triple bypass right and give a guy another thirty years, and also..."

"Lose an eight year old girl to a procedure that should only be marginally more dangerous than piercing her ears?" He snapped. "How am I meant to live with that Serena? How am I meant to go through with all those years of training, only to know that in the end it might not make the slightest bit of difference?"

"Terry, you know that isn't..."

"You said it yourself Serena, sometimes things just go badly, and there isn't anything we can do to stop it." Terry told her, almost pleading with her to give him an answer, to say something that would make sense of it all. "There are all those people in the world that get into fights, or shooting each other in pointless gang battles, or get drunk and run their cars into traffic, and so many times we save them. So why did Jessie have to die? What did she ever do to anyone?"

"I don't know what to tell you that can make this better." Serena said sympathetically as she held him. "I like to think I was a good person. Sure, I did a few things I probably shouldn't have in my time, but I never went out of my way to hurt anyone. I always did what I thought I should to protect the people I cared about, but still, I got sick, and if it wasn't for a little help from the Swordfish Zord, I'd probably not be around today."

She then took a deep sigh and thought about something else.

"Stephen didn't deserve to die either." She told him. "Serrator murdered him just to get to us...to get to me. If you asked him now, he'd probably not even remember Stephen's name."

"Serena..."

"The one thing I've learned about life is that it's not fair." She told him flatly. "Sometimes, bad things happen to good people, and good people suffer as a result. All we can do is try to make sure that happens as little as possible."

"I just...I don't know how I can go on with this." He told her honestly. "Sure, I liked Jessie, I met her a few times, but if I'm honest, I barely knew her. I never dealt with her case directly, and I'm in bits. How am I meant to cope when people's lives really are in my hands?"

Serena was about to answer, when Brenda came into the room, carrying her cell phone. She just looked to them.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. It's just...I've been talking to Ji." She informed them. "I've explained what's going on. Under the circumstances, we think its best that we..."

"No." Terry interrupted her. "No, it's alright. I might be having my problems, but there's no reason they should be your problems too."

"Terry..."

"Look, maybe I just need to be alone." Terry suggested. "I have some things I really need to think about."

With that, he walked out. Serena saw him go, and was about to go after him, but she stopped as she saw Brenda still there with the phone. She looked back to her.

"Is Ji still on the line?" Serena asked her. She just nodded. "Let me talk to him."

She took the phone and took a deep breath.

"Ji, its Serena." She told him. "He's taking it really pretty badly. Listen, you have contacts, could you do me a huge favour?"

In the Netherworld, Dayu found a window of opportunity to leave the Junk, finding Dekker in his cave, practicing with The Bane of Life, perfecting every stroke with the obsessive dedication he had to every one of his opponents. She stood to admire him for a moment, thinking of the first time she had even seen him, back all those centuries ago when she was first sold into his father's service. He had changed in that time, the curse of Urumasa, his dedication to being the best he could being warped into his destructive path of bloodshed, but in many ways, she couldn't see him as anything other than the one bright point in a life that had been cruelly ripped from her when she was merely a child.

He finally stopped, putting away his sword and turned to face her. He always seemed to know she was there. It was something she had started to believe to be more than just his warrior instinct. In time, the time since they had been freed from The Judge's game, where his actions towards her just seemed a little different. Although she had always hoped that the plans she had put into place would possibly break the curse, and possibly bring Dekker back to her, she was now starting to see things in the way he looked at her, the way he didn't pull away from her as briskly, and she was starting to wonder if it was possible his mind was already beginning to make the connection. The Judge was a powerful wizard, but he had his limits, and of course, he was now no more. Was it possible the curse wasn't complete? That Dekker was perhaps capable of remembering who he once was?

He looked to her and smiled, taking a seat on a rock and gesturing her to sit. She could almost remember him doing that on the first night she had been instructed to go to his bed chambers to tend the wounds his own brothers inflicted on him in training.

"You really need to practice your sneaking." He joked. Dayu couldn't help smirking as she heard this. She couldn't remember the last time Dekker made a joke, even a lame one.

"You're working hard." She told him. "I thought you were waiting for..."

"I will wait for Serrator." He told her. "I just feel that perhaps it has been too long since I reminded the Rangers that I'm still around. I feel a visit may be in order."

Dayu got a quick thought as she heard this. She, like Octoroo was more into the long game, into reconnaissance, knowing the enemy and striking at the opportune moment. She had seen a lot of what the Rangers had been doing recently, and she thought of something that may help further her cause.

"Tomorrow." She told him. "Go to the Shiba House tomorrow."

"The Shiba House?" He asked. "But...I cannot enter. Not anymore."

"Trust me, you won't need to enter." She assured him. "And please, take this."

She approached him, presenting him with a pink sash, which she draped softly over his shoulder. He looked to her curiously.

"Is it not a custom for a warrior to seek favours from a maiden before heading into battle?" She asked him. He just nodded, before turning to face her.

"It is, but I'm just not used to..." His words tailed off, and as he looked to her, he could feel something inside him stirring. He didn't know what it was, but he just took a deep breath, and took the sash in his hands, looking to her gratefully. "Thank you."

"Remember, tomorrow." She told him. "Midday, not a moment before."

"I will do as the lady commands." He answered. Dayu just turned away before he could see her tears, and disappeared. For the first time in a long time, she had more than just desperation, she had real hope.

Serena had run into Terry in the city, using his Samuraizer to track him. She had pretty much given up on talking to him, and dragged him all the way to their destination. Finally letting go of him, he just looked to her judgementally.

"The hospital?" He asked her. "Serena, this is exactly the last place I want to be!"

"And it's the one place you need to be!" She answered sharply. "Terry, there's something I think you really need to see."

"Serena, I..."

"Please, just indulge me this once." She told him. "You're already thinking of giving up medicine right? Of taking the last two years of your life and just flushing them down the toilet? Well, what's another hour going to matter?"

Terry didn't want to be within a hundred miles of a hospital, or anything even remotely to do with medicine, but he knew that Serena wasn't to be denied when she had her mind set on something. He just nodded his head and went with her inside. They wandered through a few corridors, before finally coming to a lecture hall. They came in the back, quietly sliding into a couple of unoccupied seats. The guy at the door didn't even try to stop them, clearly this was Serena's doing all along.

Terry saw a couple of people being taken to a table at the front, facing a panel. Looking to them, he saw the Chief of Medicine, the hospital's legal counsel, and a couple of senior doctors. It was then he realised what this was. It was a Mortality and Morbidity Conference.

He had heard about them in his studies, but because he wasn't yet working in hospitals full-time, he had never actually seen one. The polite way to put it was that a Mortality and Morbidity Conference was a meeting held when patients either had serious complications, or died, in order to determine if anyone connected to the hospital was to blame. A less polite way to put it was it was a trial, a way to figure out who was going to be put in front of the firing squad as a result of a patient's death.

"Alright, now we come to the case of the patient Jessica Newton, aged eight years. Appendectomy, result...patient deceased." The Chief of Medicine began. Already Serena was nervous. This was all so cold and clinical, so detached, it sounded almost like they were deciding who had broken a plate. She looked to Terry, who was struggling to watch. "What are the findings?"

A man stood up from the panel, holding a chart. He started to read through it.

"Anaesthesia was well within normal range for a patient of this age and size." He began. "The procedure began at seven AM. The patient showed vitals within the acceptable range, and was monitored throughout."

Now Serena was becoming even more concerned. She was hoping that seeing this would get Terry to think that there was something that couldn't be accounted for, and others were as genuinely distraught as he was, but so far she felt like she was witnessing people talking about a broken household appliance. She reached for Terry's hand, lacing hers with his.

"The surgical instruments were all tested, as were the incision wounds." Another doctor continued. "There is no evidence of secondary infection."

"We got the post-mortem back a short time ago." The Chief of Medicine stated. He opened a report, and started to leaf through it. Serena found it hard to imagine the fact one of these conferences at one time, under different circumstances, would have been held about her. She wondered if she'd be reduced to 'acceptable ranges' and 'normal procedures'.

"It appears that Jessica had a congenital heart condition that we were unaware of." He read aloud. "We checked her family history, and it appears to have skipped a generation. Even her parents were unaware, which is why they didn't report it. The stress of the surgery was simply too much for her. There is no evidence of surgical negligence."

Serena was relieved to hear this. It seemed like they hadn't done anything wrong. There was already something wrong with Jessica, something that no one had any reason to know about. It was all a tragic accident. She looked to Terry as the others started to file out of the room, but could see him staring at the front of the room.

"Terry...?"

"Look at him." Terry told her, pointing to the front. She looked to the front of the room, seeing a guy sitting in green scrubs at the table, his head in his hands. There were others around him, but he seemed inconsolable. She looked closer, and realised something startling.

"He...he can't be any older than me." She murmured. "He's..."

She was cut off as Terry headed down to the front of the lecture hall. She got up and followed him, seeing him keeping his eyes on the young surgeon. Once he got to the front of the room, confronting him, the young surgeon looked up. She could see that he was as distraught as Terry had been.

"You were the one who worked on Jessica?" Terry asked him. The young Surgeon just nodded. Terry came closer, before putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I tried...I..." The surgeon told him. "I did everything the way I was taught. I did everything..."

"Jessie was a happy young girl." Terry told him. The surgeon looked to him. "I guess, that's the way I'll have to remember her."

"You...you're the guy that plays guitar around the children's ward aren't you?" He asked. Terry just nodded.

"Yeah, that's me." He answered. The surgeon just stood up, looking to him.

"Do you have any idea how many of my patients are just desperate to get back to listening to you?" He asked him. "Jessica..."

"Jessie." Terry corrected him. "She always hated Jessica; it always made her feel like she was getting into trouble."

The surgeon looked like he wanted to say something, but he just got gestured out by some of his colleagues. Serena was a little nervous about how Terry would respond.

"That guy...he was devastated." Terry told her. "But in a couple of hours, he'll be back on shift."

"Terry, I know..."

"Because, Jessie died, but if it wasn't for him and the other doctors...how many more people wouldn't make it?" Terry asked her. He turned and looked at her. "I...I can't give up can I?"

Serena just smiled.

"I can't give up. I owe it to everyone that's supported me." He told her. "I owe it to Jessie."

"You also owe it to yourself." Serena said seriously. "I can assure you, I've known a lot of doctors, and most of them made me feel like a side of beef when they were treating me. Jessie had something that not a lot of people are lucky enough to have. She had someone that cared about her on her team."

"Serena..."

"Maybe if I had someone like that on my team, I'd not have had such a hard time." She suggested. "Maybe I would have fought a little harder."

"Thanks." Terry said, looking a little confused. "I'm not entirely sure..."

"I guess I have a pretty unique mindset." Serena told him. "So, what do you say?"

"I guess we have a wedding to prepare for." Terry told her. "Thanks again Serena."

She saw his hand on her arm, and felt a tingle at his touch. She just smiled.

"You're welcome."


	10. Ji's Wedding

The following morning came, creating a storm of activity. Although they had offered to postpone the wedding, Terry had insisted that they go ahead. He was still upset over Jessie's death, but he insisted he would be alright, and he had assured them that having something happy to lift everyone's spirits would be a good thing.

He had spent the night at Brenda's, becoming a "surrogate girl" for the proceedings. Once the Shiba House had been set up to Mia's exacting standards, something which took so long everyone at the girls' apartment was starving by the time she arrived to order food for the party, she and the others had celebrated with some home stories and a few jokes. Terry was more than happy being there, being blissfully unaware of the subtle little competition going on between Emily and Mia over their differing beliefs about the relationship he had with Serena. Emily sat at his side, sharing with him stories about Serena's youth, telling him about all the times she protected her as a kid from the town bullies, and taught her all the things her mother couldn't during her tenure as a Ranger. Mia on the other hand was trying to keep his mind on entertaining the others, and trying to keep his attention away from Serena.

The morning though was very different. Terry spent most of the morning hugging the wall or cowering on the couch as the girls all ran around at speeds that would put Antonio to shame, all the time rushing out panicked phrases like "where's my hair band?" or "have you finished with the eyeliner?" It was something of a safari for him, seeing women in their element before a wedding. Mia came over, ripping the bowl of cereal from his hands.

"Hey, I wasn't finished..."

"Yes you have." She interrupted him abruptly, in that tone of voice that terrified him, the one reserved for when she was really on edge as a result of a wedding. It was somewhat akin to a bear that had its paw in a trap. Anything could set her off. "You aren't dressed yet!"

"Mia, there's two hours to go." He reminded her.

"Yeah, so..."

"Ji hasn't sent around my suit yet." He interjected. "It's kind of hard to..."

"Jayden?" Mia screamed into her Samuraizer before he could finish, having lost her patience. "Terry's still sitting here in his jeans, where the hell is that tux?"

"We sent it out a few minutes ago." Jayden answered. "It should be there soon."

"How soon?" Mia asked him. "Call the courier!"

"Uh...Mia, you may want to..."

"I'll calm down once we're all dressed and at the Shiba House!" She snapped at Terry, causing him to recoil into the couch, almost like he hoped it would wrap itself around him and protect him from his sister. She got back onto the phone, screaming at Jayden for the number of the courier. Serena came over, sitting with Terry.

"Do you think Kevin knows what he's in for?" She asked him. He shook his head.

"She could give Bridezilla lessons." He answered, before looking to her, his mouth hanging open.

Serena was already dressed, in a beautiful, off-white gown, with her hair styled up away from her face. She had a bright glow about her that made it hard for him to think of anything else. She reached across, touching his leg gently.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked. "We'd understand if you wanted to give this a miss."

"No, it'll be fine." He assured her. "Besides, I wouldn't want to let Antonio down. He's been working really hard on the set list without me."

"Well, as long as you're sure." Serena assured him. She got up and headed out of the room to go and get some champagne for the group, with an orange juice for Brenda. Seeing her go, Emily stood with her arms crossed, a smug little smile on her face. Mia came over as she hung up after a heated discussion with the courier bringing Terry's tux.

"Well?" Emily asked her. "What do you think?"

"Emily, Terry's going home, stop match-making." Mia groaned. "Look, I know you're really excited about this romantic idea, but you have to admit, those two are kind of like nitro and glycerine. It's best they stay as far apart as possible."

"I disagree." Emily answered. "I think they'd be really good for each other."

"Emily..."

"How about we put our money where our mouth is?" Emily asked her. "If they don't end up together by the time we deal with Xandred, you get to pick my wedding dress."

"Emily, you are NOT picking..."

"If they do, I pick your bridesmaid dresses." Emily told her, knowing better than to threaten Mia with not choosing her own wedding dress. Mia was about to argue, but just then the doorbell sounded. She just looked to Emily and grabbed her hand, shaking it.

"Fine, we're on." Mia told her. "Now, if this isn't that damned courier..."

She opened the door, finding a guy outside holding a suit bag. She snatched the bag from him, shoved some money into his hand, and slammed the door in his face all before he could even utter a word.

"Terry!" She screeched, grabbing her brother roughly off the couch and thrusting the tux into his chest. She pointed in the direction of the bathroom. "Go and get changed!"

"Can't I have my champagne first?" He asked.

"MOVE IT!" Mia screamed. Terry ran off like a frightened rabbit, tripping a couple of times on his path. Mia turned to see Serena, Emily and Brenda all staring at her dumbfounded.

"Wow!" Brenda stated. "I think it's odd that someone's more nervous about this wedding than the bride."

"Maybe we should invite Xandred to the wedding." Serena commented. "I don't know about him, but you scare the shit out of me!"

"Alright, I guess I'm just highly strung." Mia commented.

"Highly strung?" Emily giggled. "Mia, if Xandred appeared in this living room right now, he'd probably be fleeing for his life without us lifting a finger!"

"Am I really...?"

"Yes." They all responded, nodding their heads. Mia just sighed.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. Serena handed her some champagne.

"Just...try to relax. It's not your day." She reminded her. She held up her glass for a toast. "To the future."

"To the future." They all chorused in response.

Over at the Shiba House, the preparations were very different. Despite staying up with the guys talking and laughing about the future, Ji had gotten everyone up bright and early for some training. It was kind of an odd thing about Ji; he found he was most at ease when he was coming down from a hard work-out, and so he had gotten the guys in the house to train with him. After some showers, and enjoying the fact that with no girls around, there wasn't the same problem with walking around in their boxers looking for all the things like bow ties and belts that seemed to take on a life of their own and hide, they were starting to get ready.

Ji was standing, looking at himself in the mirror when Jayden knocked on the door. He came in, finding Ji struggling with the last couple of pieces of his tuxedo. He had spent something in the region of thirty years dressing almost exclusively in kimonos. He was hardly ever comfortable when he was required to dress in street clothing to fit in when he went to town on business. The tuxedo was a whole different world. The way he fumbled with the clasps and buttons, it was as though someone was asking him to programme a space shuttle. Jayden just let out a little laugh.

"Would you like a hand?" He asked. Ji just nodded and let out an exasperated breath.

"Please." He answered. Jayden came across. Ji wasn't a dunce, he had managed most of it, it was just a couple of things that bothered him. He had a black, silk cummerbund and a black silk bow tie to go yet. He lifted the jacket as Jayden helped him with the cummerbund.

"You know, I guess you always imagined this the other way round." Jayden stated.

"I suppose I did." Ji replied honestly. "I can't believe how fortunate I've been finding Brenda."

"She's a pretty special lady." Jayden agreed. "That kid is seriously lucky to have parents like you."

"Thank you for your kind words." Ji said as he handed Jayden his bow tie. Jayden started to put it on. "I suppose Antonio taught you how to do that? I know I didn't."

"He did." Jayden said with a smile, gesturing to his red bow tie. "I did this one myself. Pretty good don't you think?"

"It is indeed." Ji said proudly. "Now, since we've mentioned Antonio..."

"It's alright Ji, we've talked and it's fine." Jayden assured him. "It was a misunderstanding."

"How so?" Ji asked him.

"Well, he told me he wasn't seriously thinking of proposing, he just got caught up in all the wedding talk that's been flying around the house lately." Jayden explained. "I guess even people like us get giddy about weddings."

"There is no greater joy than when two people in love dedicate their lives to each other." Ji answered sagely. "So, what about...?"

"He said he wanted to check out our options for the future." Jayden interrupted him. "I guess I've given it passing thoughts, but nothing serious. I promised him that after all this; I'll use the family fortune to help some of the campaigns to change the marriage laws."

Ji just smiled and pulled Jayden in, hugging him tightly. He had seen Jayden grow from a child into a man, and he couldn't imagine being more proud of him. He was fighting to change the world for the better, not just in the battlefield, but in Government too. He was certain that Jayden would succeed in his goal eventually, something he hoped to be a part of.

"Well, I have some friends in local Government..."

"Ji, is there anywhere you don't have friends?" Jayden asked him as they parted. Ji just shrugged.

"I've never found Nascar to be a terribly interesting thing to follow." He commented. Jayden just laughed and hugged him again. Just then, Mike knocked on the door and poked his head in.

"Ji, the registrar is..." His words tailed off as he saw him with Jayden. "Oh...um...sorry to interrupt."

"It's alright Mike." Ji chuckled. "I suppose it is time to, how would you put it, 'knock off al the mushy shit and get out there?'" Ji replied. Mike just smiled and left. Jayden looked to him.

"They've all grown haven't they?" Jayden stated.

"Indeed you have." Ji told him, before heading out into the Living Room. There, he found Kevin, Mike, Antonio and a registrar all standing waiting for them. There was about an hour left until midday, when they would hold the ceremony, but he was happy to see everyone was ready. He went to the registrar.

"David, so glad you could shoe-horn me in at such short notice." Ji stated. David just laughed.

"Hey, those Cliff Richard tickets are front row centre, I think the least I can do is juggle the schedule a little." He commented.

Kevin just looked to him.

"Cliff Richard, that concert's been sold out for months." He stated. "Do you know someone in the ticket office?"

"No, I know Cliff." Ji answered. They all laughed, but when they saw he wasn't laughing, they stopped. Ji just cocked an eyebrow.

"Now, I believe it is customary for the groom to get some Dutch courage before the ceremony." He stated as Jayden got the bottle of 30 year old malt they had been drinking a couple of nights ago and some glasses. He poured all of them a glass and passed them out. Kevin and Mike both scrunched up their noses, clearly not fond of the thought of whisky, but it was Ji's day so they steeled themselves.

"I can honestly say, I am honoured and proud to know all of you." He stated. "And there is no one I would rather share my wedding day with. To the future."

"To the future." They all chorused in response, drinking to Ji's happiness.

In the Netherworld, Dekker paced impatiently as the hour drew nearer. He had no idea why Dayu had wanted him to attack at this time in particular, but he had known of her long enough to know that so far, she had never led him to harm. She had, in fact, often pleaded with him to exercise caution. All he knew was that the opportunity she had picked out for him was nearly at hand.

He gripped the Bane of Life tightly, and adjusted the pink sash Dayu had given him, when he felt a familiar presence. He smiled and turned to her.

"It's time?" He asked her.

"Almost." She told him, offering him a hand. "Come with me, and do exactly what I say."

He took her hand, and followed her into the gap.

The few guests arrived in the garden, taking their seats quickly. Being so small, they didn't expect the ceremony to take long. Ji was standing a little way from the gates with Jayden, his chosen Best Man, and David for the bridal party. Brenda had chosen Mia as her Maid of Honour, more out of being terrified of the consequences of choosing one of the less wedding-obsessed girls than any genuine preference for her over the others. Everyone else was waiting for her to make her entrance.

Antonio and Terry got the nod, and started to play a modified version of the wedding march on their guitars. Ji turned to David, waiting for his bride to come. He was as rigid as a board, and his breathing became rapid. It was now really happening. He was finally going to happen; he was going to marry the woman he loved. Feeling her hand lacing with his, he turned to see her, wearing a brilliant white dress, with a veil covering her face. He could see her smile and couldn't help smiling himself as Mia took her place.

"This is far from a traditional ceremony, so I'll keep things brief and to the point." David told them. "Ji, do you promise to love Brenda, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." Ji answered honestly, looking into her eyes. Brenda's face lit up so much; it almost shone through the veil.

"Brenda, do you promise to love Ji, from this day..."

"I do." She interrupted him abruptly. "I definitely do!"

"If there is anyone here present who knows of any reason as to why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your piece."

At that exact moment, a loud explosion ripped the gates of the Shiba House from their hinges and sent them tumbling into the yard, smashing through chairs as the Rangers scattered to avoid them. Ji shielded Brenda, but fortunately the doors flew past them. They all turned toward the smoke, seeing a figure in it. As the dust settled, they saw Dekker standing before them. His cloak whipped around him, and he was holding the Bane of Life.

It was as the dust settled though, and he saw the Rangers all running to the fore that he noticed something odd, something that made him pause. They were all dressed very formally. He could see that the house was decorated. He then saw Ji and Brenda standing side-by-side, with her wearing what was clearly a wedding gown.

"Stay inside, he cannot harm you here." Ji instructed Brenda. Jayden just looked to Dekker.

"Really?" He asked. "Here, now?"

Dekker didn't answer though. If anything, he seemed to stagger slightly, and his free hand strayed to his head. Looking down to the pink sash, he just stood without saying another word.

His memory was distorted, warped, like watching a video from a stretched tape, but he could see a few things. He could see himself back at his father's house, the same place that gave him the rage that had driven him for centuries, but this scene was different. There were soft candles, and he could feel warm, caring hands on him, tending to his wounds.

"This one is not so bad." He heard someone say. Her visage was completely blurred beyond recognition, but she touched him with a softness that sent a feeling through him he hadn't known. It was happiness. She wrapped a pink sash around his arm as a make-shift bandage. "Perhaps one day we can have the life we yearn for so much."

Dekker was snapped back to reality as a clod of mud hit him in the side of the head. Emily was holding up her Samuraizer.

"What do you want here Dekker?" She demanded.

"I...I...I don't know." He replied. He sheathed the Bane of Life, looking more than a little spaced. He just looked back to the Rangers. "We will duel Red Ranger...just...not today."

He pulled his cloak around himself and turned away.

"Congratulations." He said quietly. "I'm sorry for the interruption."

With that, he disappeared. All the Rangers and David just looked completely confused.

"What the hell was that all about?" Antonio asked.

"Do you really think any of us know what goes on in that freak's head?" Mike asked him. "Um...your honour or...whatever...don't you still have a job to do?"

"Oh...um...yes." David stammered. "Ji, Brenda, with the power invested in me by the State of California, you are now man and wife. You may...oh, never mind."

Ji and Brenda were already kissing, grateful to have the ceremony over, and for the danger to have passed. Ji just looked to the others and gestured inside.

"We can clean this up tomorrow." He told them. "Until then, I believe we have much to celebrate."

Back in the Netherworld, in his cave, Dekker was pacing impatiently, wringing his hands through his hair. He knew part of his curse affected his memory, but now, right now, he had gotten a big part of it back, and it pained him horribly. It seemed his life had not been nothing but beatings and hardship. It appeared he did have something in his life other than battle and bloodshed. Although he couldn't remember her, he could remember how he felt about the memory of the mysterious woman. The way his heart beat faster in his chest, the way nothing else mattered. He had once had someone that he loved, and whom he suspected had loved him in return. He had always known that he was cursed by Urumasa, but now he was beginning to realise that he had lost more than he suspected, and Serrator was the one that was ensuring he didn't realise what.

He then felt that same energy and tensed up. Serrator had appeared in his cave. He found his fists clenching.

"You're back." Dekker commented.

"Not a moment too soon." Serrator told him. "I can't tell you how inconvenient..."

"Just tell me what you want." Dekker cut him off. "I am Ronin. I don't need to know the details of your petty desires, I only need to know where, when and whom you wish me to attack."

"That will all come in time." Serrator drawled, coming over to him, reaching around Dekker's shoulders. "You seem awfully tense my Cursed Warrior."

Dekker felt the hilt of the Bane of Life in his hands, and the thought crossed his mind. One strike, one stroke of his sword, and it would all be avenged. Serrator's poison would be taken out in one simple motion, but something stopped him. It would be too easy. Serrator never made things that easy. He was certain that Serrator had to have a contingency in whatever his vile plans were. Dayu had always warned him they needed to wait to see what his plans were before they acted, to ensure that someone else didn't simply take up the reins. He looked to Serrator.

"Just anxious to do what must be done." He answered.

"Well, you don't have long to wait." Serrator assured him. "Soon, you will take your part in history."

Dekker just shrugged Serrator's hand off him and smiled, sitting by his fire.

"Believe me, I can't wait." Dekker assured him.

Fin.

**A/N:** Before I get any comments, I have NOT seen the new ep, nor have I seen any clips. I hope to do so in the next day or so. I just wanted to wrap this up. Hope you all enjoyed it.


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